DONG Energy joins forces with Faroe Islands utility company SEV in a Power Hub project aimed at minimizing power outages.
Nobody will dispute that the Faroe Islands has to be one of the world’s best locations for wind farms. Make no mistake, the islanders are well aware of the advantages that can be gained from utilizing renewable sources of energy — and what better resource than wind to have a closer look at in such a windswept place in the quest to reduce dependency on oil for heating, fuel and power.
In line with the European Union’s drive to go green, the Faroese are looking to have about one-quarter of their power usage to originate from wind turbines by the end of this year.
However, in a climate characterized by frequent rain and gail force winds—and with no power cable connections to other countries—integrating renewable energy into the existing grid is easier said than done.
What to expect: oft-occurring and large power outages.
In late 2012 DONG Energy and the Faroe Islands’ utility SEV cut the power supply to a power station block through an emergency stop, killing more than one-tenth of the total power supply to the island community. Within only one to two seconds, the Power Hub system had restored the grid’s balance by temporary shutting down two selected users, a large cold store and a fish farm.
According to Evert den Boer, DONG Energy Senior Vice President, the focus of the Power Hub project is now to realize its commercial value.
“What is ground-breaking is that we can now prove that a Power Hub system can play a vital role in the integration of Europe’s ever-increasing amounts of renewable energy,” Mr. den Boer said. “It can enable many of our clients to reduce or increase their power consumption according to changes in prices and production rates.”
