De Windvogel and Emmett Green sign cooperation agreement for battery at Amstelvogel wind turbine

Citizen cooperative De Windvogel and Emmett Green have planned to jointly install a mega-battery next to wind turbine 'de Amstelvogel' in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. Battery and wind turbine use the same grid connection. "Grid congestion, the overloading of the electricity grid, is a big problem," says Michiel Bron of De Windvogel. "By storing the extra power from the Amstelvogel in Emmett Green's battery, the grid infrastructure is less burdened at peak times."

The 2-megawatt battery, the size of a single shipping container, offers a storage capacity equal to that of the Amstelvogel. With the compact "smart grid" in which wind turbine and battery use the same grid connection, De Windvogel and Emmett Green are contributing to preventing regional grid congestion. This enables more production and use of green power. Emmett Green and De Windvogel are both stepping into the project for 50%, thus guaranteeing local ownership of the battery. If permits are granted in time, the battery could be operational by the summer of 2024.

Michiel Bron (The Windbird): "The Windbird is open to innovations and our members have long urged us to explore battery storage options. With these concrete plans, we are one of the first within the cooperative sector to contribute to locally owned battery storage. The knowledge and expertise we gain from this project we can then pass on to cooperatives nationwide."

Michiel Roelofs (Emmett Green): "Batteries are an important part of the energy grid of the future, to keep it stable and help avoid congestion. We are currently developing a number of mega-batteries with commercial partners and believe it is essential for the energy transition to translate our experiences to local-for-local."

Pictured (background) Michiel Wildschut (Emmett Green) and Kjell Schippers (Windvogel) (r) in the foreground. Michiel Bron (Windvogel) and Michiel Roelofs (Emmett Green) (r).