Statoil said it will install a 1MWh lithium battery based storage pilot system at its 30MW Hywind floating offshore wind farm situated near the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Scottish Government, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Scottish Enterprise to develop the storage solution, dubbed Batwind.
The storage solution, which is due to be installed in later part of 2018, will be equal to battery capacity of over 2 million iPhones.
The solution will offer a technological and commercial foundation for the deployment of Batwind in full-scale offshore wind farms.
Statoil offshore wind senior vice president Stephen Bull said: "By developing innovative battery storage solutions, we can improve the value of wind energy for both Statoil and customers.
"With Batwind, we can optimise the energy system from wind park to grid.Battery storage represents a new application in our offshore wind portfolio, contributing to realising our ambition of profitable growth in this area."
The storage system will be piloted at Hywind Scotland, a wind park with five floating turbines.
The park is currently being built, with electricity production set to start at the end of 2017. The wind farm is expected to power about 20,000 homes.
Scotland Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: "The signing of this MoU will allow the signatories to work together in the development of the Batwind battery storage solution."
"This will help maximise the renewable generation of the Hywind offshore wind farm, whilst informing the case for energy storage and demonstrating the technology’s ability to support renewables in Scotland and internationally."
Image: Illustration of battery connection to offshore wind farm. Photo: courtesy of Statoil.