The companies are planning a new installation to reduce the stress on the power grids and provide a climate-friendly heat supply

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50Hertz plans to convert wind energy into heat in Germany. (Credit: Stadtwerke Rostock)

Germany-based transmission system operator 50Hertz Transmission and public utility company Stadtwerke Rostock are planning to convert green energy into heat.

The companies are planning a new installation to reduce the stress on the power grids and provide a climate-friendly heat supply.

50Hertz said that when wind farms in the north generate a lot of electricity and it cannot be consumed or transported to the south, the output of the wind turbines often needs to be limited and the operators are compensated for the losses.

The collaboration will work towards enabling the green power surpluses to be used more efficiently and ecologically for the heat supply of the Stadtwerke Rostock.

50Hertz chief markets and system operations officer Dirk Biermann said: “Both economically and ecologically, we should strive to use electricity instead of curtailing it.

“The use of green power for heating or supplying hot water is a useful alternative for curtailment, so that renewable resources can also be exploited when there are bottlenecks in the electricity transmission grid.”

Stadtwerke Rostock and 50Hertz are planning to build 20MW Power-to-Heat unit

For the conversion of wind power into heat, Stadtwerke Rostock and 50Hertz plan to construct a 20MW Power-to-Heat unit (PtH) in the Rostock district of Marienehe.

The new system will be combined with a heat accumulator that will also be built on the same site of Stadtwerke Rostock.

According to the transmission system operator, the PtH units will work like oversized electric kettles and are expected to play an important role in the energy system of the future.

Stadtwerke Rostock will be responsible for planning, construction and operation of the PtH unit, while 50Hertz Transmission will provide funding of about €20m ($22m) and will take care of its proper integration into the management of bottlenecks in the extra high voltage grid.

The PtH unit is scheduled to begin construction this year.