Orkney has over 650 wind turbines and thousands of solar panels, generating 130% of the electricity needed. A pioneering pilot project in Orkney saw solar and storage systems deployed in a housing development to boost self-consumption and overcome grid constraints. The Grainbank project linked Tesla battery units to rooftop solar on 30 households to make better use of the renewable generation throughout the day.
These batteries were intended to stop excess solar generation from ‘spilling’ onto the local grid, which is already constrained by high levels of intermittent renewable generation. The storage units also charge using wind energy, making use of the plentiful wind energy the island’s turbines produce that would otherwise be curtailed.
Solar & Storage Factory, Germany
In 2019, multinational tech firm ABB unveiled its CO2 neutral factory in Luedenscheid, Germany. The manufacturing site which produces electrical equipment like sockets and switchers, employs 800 people and consumes a lot of energy