VRB Power's sale last month of a flow battery system to Irish wind developer Tapbury Management Ltd. was a major coup for the company. The $6.3 million "Redox" system will provide 12 megawatt-hours of electricity storage for Tapbury's wind farm, allowing it to "firm up" energy produced from the farm. Now, Tapbury and Sustainable Energy Ireland (a government authority in charge of sustainable energy development in Ireland) are jointly funding a study to "ascertain and quantify the full potential economic benefits of coupling Vanadium Redox Batteries with wind farms in Ireland."
The study is expected to be completed by end of October, 2006 and will be used to determine the economic potential for battery storage operating in the forthcoming Single Electricity Market in Ireland. With over 3,000MW of wind energy in the application process in Ireland, there are estimates that there could be a need for in excess of 700MW of storage in Ireland to enable the successful roll out of its most abundant natural resource.
Positive results from this study could add further momentum to VRB's business prospects in Ireland and throughout Europe. I'm surprise there's not an Irish company called Shamrock Wind Power, given that the clover is green, has three leaves (a turbine has three blades) and it's a symbol of the Irish.
Source : CleanBreak
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