Ørsted, Highview to Explore Storing Offshore Wind Power as Liquid Air

Ørsted and Highview Power have joined forces to try to prove the feasibility and economic value of co-locating long-duration energy storage with offshore wind.

The two companies will carry out detailed technical analysis and an economic assessment during 2023 that will investigate how combining Ørsted’s wind technology with Highview Power’s liquid air energy storage can deliver a stronger investment case for future offshore wind projects.

This could be achieved by reducing wind curtailment, increasing productivity, and helping the move to a more flexible, resilient zero-carbon grid.

This partnership comes at a critical moment in the UK’s energy transition, said the partners, with the country aiming to install 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

According to the companies, storage systems will play a crucial role in supporting the stability of the power network and improving the efficiency of the offshore wind farms, encouraging future investment in renewable energy that will boost the UK’s energy and cut consumer bills.

”We believe that energy storage will play a pivotal role in a world that runs entirely on green energy. Our collaboration with Highview Power is an important step in creating effective energy storage solutions that unlock greater value from next generation wind farms and support the evolution of our power grid. Together our technologies can be a catalyst to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels,” said Duncan Clark, Managing Directore Offshore and Country Chair UK & Ireland for Ørsted.

The lack of renewable energy storage during peak conditions this winter meant that the UK was unable to store as much as 1.35 TWh of wind energy, which could have powered 1.2 million homes with clean energy every day, the partners said.

The firms also added that over this period, the UK had to rely on GBP 60 billion of gas.

Ørsted has 6.2 GW operational across 13 UK offshore wind farms which provide enough electricity to power over seven million homes.

One of its largest projects on the East Coast is the 1.2 GW Hornsea One, located in the North Sea off the east coast of England, which became fully operational in January 2020.

Another wind farm, developed by Ørsted, that was fully commissioned in August of 2022, is the 1.3 GW Hornsea Two, which now holds the title of the world’s largest wind farm in operation.

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