If this works well it will open up much more potential for the wind energy biz.
vrbpower.com
VRB Power announces sale of 12MWH VRB-ESS for new wind farm in Ireland Vancouver, B.C. (30 August, 2006) – VRB Power Systems Inc. (TSX-V: VRB) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a sale agreement with Tapbury Management Limited of Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Ireland (“Tapbury”) for the sale of a 1.5 MW x 8 hour (12 MWH) VRB-ESS™. Tapbury oversees the
management of Sorne Hill Windfarm, a recently commissioned 32MW windfarm which is located in Buncrana, Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland (“Sorne”). This 12MWH VRB-ESS will be coupled to phase II of the Sorne project which is an additional 6.9 MW of wind power for which turbines have been ordered and are due to be installed in the Fall of 2007. This will make Sorne, at 38 MW, one of the largest wind farms in Ireland. The total contract value for VRB Power from this sale is approximately US$6.3 million. The sale is subject to the execution of final contracts between VRB Power and Tapbury. The sale is also conditional upon Tapbury completing its offtake and other commercial agreements, obtaining licences and permits for
the system and completing its project finance requirements. These matters are targeted to be finalized within the next 90 days. Subject to the performance results from this initial 12MWH VRB-ESS, Tapbury has the option to expand
the power and storage elements of the system to cover the existing 32MWs of wind power at Sorne which
would equate to approximately 50 MWH’s of additional VRB energy storage. “With approximately 3,000MW of wind energy in the application process in Ireland, we believe that there
could be a need for in excess of 700MW of storage in Ireland to enable the successful roll out of this abundant resource,” stated John Ward, Director and shareholder in Tapbury and Sorne Wind Energy Limited (“Sorne”). With the VRB system, we will be enabled to significantly expand and develop the
substantial wind energy resources which the country has. In terms of our own portfolio of wind projects, we would have some 70-80 MW of wind projects which would be immediately enabled by this technology. We are currently in discussions with Bord Gais Energy Supply, in relation to the offtake of
the VRB-ESS conditioned wind power from phase II at Sorne. Bord Gais Energy Supply is an Independent Energy Supplier in Ireland and has approximately 12% of the commercial electricity supply
market. ” “This purchase is a significant milestone in the development of a real and credible alternative to fossil
generation in Ireland, and Europe. This is the culmination of around 2 years work, and we see it as only the beginning of an expansion in the size and number of wind generation installations in Ireland. What we know we can achieve, is the firming up of an intermittent source of energy. Ireland has one of the best wind regimes in the world, but because wind is intermittent, this was always going to be a resource which
could not be fully exploited,” concluded Ward
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) is Ireland’s national energy agency. Tapbury are investigating funding
opportunities for the project with SEI. Energy storage is identified by SEI as one of its research priorities
within the terms of its Renewable Energy R&D programme. Ireland has relatively low electrical power demand and limited interconnection with external networks. Energy storage is regarded by SEI as an important technology which may enable Ireland to reach its full renewable energy potential.
“This is a very important sale for the Company,” stated Tim Hennessy, Chairman and CEO of VRB Power. “It is the largest sale we have made to date and it provides validation of the potential for our storage systems to be coupled to wind farms in the large, growing wind markets in Ireland, Europe and
North America as well as a number of other countries worldwide. The VRB technology is the most advanced wind coupled storage system in the world with a very large system installed in Japan and a smaller one installed in Australia. The repeated deep cycling in wind applications makes it virtually
impossible for conventional batteries or even advanced batteries to compete with the VRB - ESS” “The negotiation of this sale has been ground-breaking from the point of view that this will be one of the largest flow batteries to be coupled to a wind farm and it will be the first large scale system of this type to be installed in Europe. This project will provide high level visibility and credibility for our technology for
wind applications in what is a fully commercial project. It follows on the heels of our recently announced
sale of a smaller 120kWh system to Risø National Laboratory in Denmark which will be assessed in both grid connected and off grid wind applications in Denmark.” “The presence of the 12MWh VRB Energy Storage System will enable Sorne, Phase II to provide more electricity to the grid on a much smoother basis improving the reliability and predictability of electricity
generation and alleviating issues of intermittency. This, together with the ability to store excess wind
energy which would otherwise be lost, has positioned Sorne to negotiate better than usual commercial terms for the off take agreement relating to the electricity that will be generated from Phase II as well as qualifying Phase II for higher capacity and ancillary payments. These value streams provide a strong value proposition for wind farm operators in Ireland and other countries and territories around the world
and this sale will provide a blue-print for other such sales.”
“ In view of the significant potential market for storage in Ireland, its ideal location and the attractive
capital and other incentives which would be available to us, we are investigating the possibility of
establishing a manufacturing facility in Ireland along with a support centre for our European efforts,”
concluded Hennessy. The cost of electricity generation in Ireland has risen to amongst the highest in the world and this has led to a large focus on reducing dependence on natural gas imports, becoming more self-sufficient in terms of
electricity generation and in maximizing its own natural resources. Ireland is also committed to the Kyoto
Protocol and to reducing Greenhouse gases. At the end of 2005 renewables, largely wind, contributed
6.8% to electricity supply and the Irish Government has set the target of 15% renewable energy generated electricity by 2010 By mid 2006, the amount of installed and contracted renewable generation (mainly wind) in Ireland totalled 1,560 MW. There is a further 2,992 MW of renewable generation (again mainly wind) in the connection application process which would be a total of 4,552 MW of renewable generation on the system. This presents the clear prospect of Ireland having the largest share of renewable generation to total generation of any grid system in the world. As the amount of wind penetration continues to increase rapidly, issues of intermittency and curtailment
are becoming more and more common and storage is becoming a necessary component to ensure that this abundant resource can be maximized without causing wide-spread frequency deviation and disruption to the Irish grid. In addition, storage has the potential to improve the capacity of electricity being generated from wind farms and to ensure that all wind energy is captured whether generated at peak or off peak
times.
About Sorne Wind and Tapbury Management
Sorne Wind Energy Limited is a private company formed to develop a 32 MW wind farm at Sorne Hill,
Buncrana, Co. Donegal, Ireland. The budgeted development cost for this wind farm is €40 million. Construction has been completed and all 16 turbines have been generating electricity since July 2006. Tapbury Management Limited is a private company formed specifically to provide administration and
management services to Sorne Wind Energy Limited. This Company will oversee the implementation and the operation of the VRB-ESS at Sorne.
About SEI
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) is the statutory authority charged with promoting and assisting the
development of sustainable energy. SEI is funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 with programmes part-financed by the European Union. SEI provides
energy policy information to the Government and is responsible for managing a number of demonstration and information dissemination programmes in Ireland.
Sustainable Energy Ireland website is www.sei.ie
About VRB Power
Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, VRB Power Systems Inc. is an energy storage technology developer
which is marketing, selling and manufacturing products utilizing the patented VRB Energy Storage System
(“VRB-ESS™”). The VRB-ESS can economically store and supply large amounts of electricity on demand and is focused on stationary applications. It is a long life, cost effective, low maintenance, efficient technology that allows for the scalability of power and storage capacity independently. The VRB-ESS is particularly beneficial to renewable energy providers, utilities and end users through its ability to
“inventory” electricity, allowing for the optimal match of supply and demand. The VRB-ESS is well suited for a variety of applications. Enabling the provision of “firm” capacity from
intermittent renewable generation such as wind and solar; more cost effective and efficient generation of electricity in remote areas; capital deferral for utilities; and load levelling (peak shaving) applications.
The VRB-ESS is also capable of providing backup power solutions including applications for utility substations
and telecommunication sites. The VRB-ESS is characterized by having the lowest ecological impact of all energy storage technologies and is unlike most other conventional energy storage systems that rely on substances such as lead or cadmium. |
