Hitachi Energy helps the Faroe Islands aim for 100% renewable energy by 2030

Hitachi Energy today announced that SEV¹, the power company serving the Faroe Islands, has selected an e-meshTM PowerStoreTM Battery Energy Storage (BESS)² solution as part of its efforts to achieve energy independence based on 100 percent renewable generation by 2030.

SEV has selected a BESS solution rated at 6 MW / 7.5 MWh for a new project integrating the 6.3 MW Porkeri Wind Farm into the local grid of the southernmost island, Suðuroy. This move will maximize the iconic archipelago’s use of available wind energy and help it move closer to its long-term sustainable energy goal.

The Porkeri site is the first wind farm on Suðuroy and part of a project expected to produce 20 GWh of energy, which will ultimately reduce thermal production by 4,400 tons per year. SEV is the main power supplier in the Faroe Islands, operating on 17 of the 18 islands of the archipelago. Isolated in the North Atlantic Ocean and home to more than 50,000 people, the rocky, volcanic islands have no choice but to be self-sufficient in terms of electricity generation as the Faroese electrical grid is not interconnected to neighboring countries.

In 2018, SEV reported that 49 percent of power generation came from renewable sources. In order to maximize these investments, SEV sought to add a BESS solution for greater reliability and resiliency. In addition to integrating the wind farm, the BESS also reduces both diesel consumption and CO² emissions, while improving power quality. The system can also be used for black start and islanding operations, when the thermal diesel powerplant is in standby mode and the wind farm is feeding clean energy to the island.  

SEV and Hitachi Energy’s project aligns with the operator’s goal of protecting the islands’ unique ecosystem. The islands are facing major environmental challenges as well as rising oil prices. To face that challenge, SEV believes a re-evaluation and reorganization of the entire energy sector will be necessary.³

“SEV is at the forefront of using innovative technology in the drive toward sustainability and clean power development, even in a highly complex environment,” said Massimo Danieli, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Grid Automation business. “By harnessing its abundant energy sources including wind, hydro power and solar, SEV’s network strategy not only achieves present goals, but also protects the area’s vital resources for future generations.”

The windfarm project at Porkeri has played a significant role in SEV’s overall move to green energy. The extremely harsh wind conditions pose a significant challenge not only to the turbine operations, but also to capturing energy. The power capacity of the battery system is similar to the power potential of the entire Porkeri windfarm itself, making it essentially a back-up system capable of supplying electricity should the wind suddenly fade away or become inaccessible.   

Based on the results of the BESS integration in the Porkeri project, SEV will look toward future BESS investments on a larger scale to support the integration of more wind energy in order to reach its 2030 target of 100 percent renewable energy powering the Faroe Islands. 

“The development of the Faroese power supply system has been going on for a century, and SEV’s foundation remains a democratic people’s organization, owned by all the Faroese municipalities, and thereby owned by the people,” said Hakun Djurhuus, CEO of SEV. “SEV’s profit from the sale of electricity is mostly spent on future extensions and work on the power supply units and the power supply system. In this way everybody makes use of SEV’s profit, and SEV can keep on developing and supplying for the growing demand of electricity,” he added.   

The project builds on Hitachi Energy’s global Grid Edge Solutions footprint of more than 700 MW and 225 references. This technology has enabled customers to create economic, social and environmental value by unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration and lowering carbon emissions.  

Notes 

^{1. https://www.sev.fo/}

^{2. https://www.hitachienergy.com/us/en/offering/solutions/grid-edge-solutions}

^{3. https://sev.cdn.fo/media/hsqkwlcn/a75268-sev-roknskapur2020-uk-spread.pdf?s=Ge6ufOufeshCnYkKbgXtIpJGozA}