An Energy Utility Perspective and Approach to Airborne Wind

Henrik Wall

Project Manager Disruptive Renewables Technology & Innovation E.ON Climate & Renewables

E.ON Climate & Renewables GmbH Brüsseler Platz 1

45131 Essen Germany

henrik.wall@eon.com www.eon.com

An Energy Utility Perspective and Approach to Airborne Wind

E.ON Climate & Renewables

E.ON started technology tracking of AWE over five years ago. Initial monitoring of technology development has led to in-depth discussions, cost modelling and a techni-cal review of selected technologies, as well as active re-search and development [1].

In 2016 E.ON decided to engage more actively with the emerging AWE industry, to speed up commercial devel-opment. To date, this has involved investment in one AWE company (Kite Power Systems, KPS) [2], and collab-oration with another (Ampyx Power) to develop a test site in Ireland [3]. The test site, in County Mayo, will be used over 4-6 years as Ampyx demonstrate their technology up to an expected 2 MW scale. To maximise the value poten-tial E.ON intends that other AWE developers, which meet our due diligence standards, can also use the site. E.ON are currently undertaking feasibility studies, and aim to begin construction activities in late 2018.

E.ON’s primary area of interest for AWE is in developing, constructing, owning and/or operating utility scale, grid-connected offshore windfarms. Consequently, E.ON is focusing its engagement towards technology developers aiming for this market.

E.ON assesses AWE technologies according to three cate-gories:

Technicalś device design and operation; level/scale of testing; planned next stages of development. Our aim is to identify the possible key risks and mitigation strate-gies, as well as the OPEX and the CAPEX requirements. Commercialś advantages of the technology; modelling for a “commercialž device; funding requirements and

sources. This requires cost breakdowns to compare with conventional wind.

Governanceś commercial and technical; risk manage-ment; Health and Safety policies; compliance with rele-vant standards; etc.

E.ON have found that being a sparring partner in the field of Governance brings most value, e.g. assessing which standards should be followed for "traditional" aspects of the engineering.

To be successful, technology developers must have a roadmap to commercialisation. Decisions may include in-house or outsourced manufacturing, seeking OEM ac-quisition or licensing of technology. Before a multiple megawatts can be installed of any technology in a com-mercial setting it is likely that it will need to be shown as "bankable", and thus need significant de-risking. E.ON are focussed on helping AWE overcome this hurdle, whether by working with research institutes, or by invest-ment or developinvest-ment of a test site, to bring AWE to com-mercial readiness by early to mid 2020s.

References:

[1] S. Mann, K. Gunn, G. Harrison, B. Beare and I. Lazakis: Wind Yield Assessment for Airborne Wind Energy, EWEA Offshore 2015. http://www.ewea.org/offshore2015/conference/allposters/ PO090.pdf

[2]E.ON Supports Game-Changing Technology for Wind Energy, E.ON press release, 2016

[3]E.ON Develops a Demonstration Site for Airborne Wind Technol-ogy in Ireland, E.ON press release, 2017