Power grid "lock" limits growth of wind power in Hungary

No more windmills can be built in Hungary before ways for storing excess electricity generated by them are developed, writes fn.hu. The Hungarian Energy Office said the problem with windmills is that their performance varies depending on the wind, and since the energy cannot be stored, when the windmills produce more power, other energy producers have to cut back their own output.

The total performance of Hungary's 63 windmills is 112.075 megawatts, less than 1% of the country's electricity consumption, which is still more than in most neighboring countries. Austria is an exception, where the total performance exceeds 1,000 megawatts, said Péter Tóth, president of the Hungarian Wind Energy Association (MSZET). Tóth added that a performance similar to that in Austria could be reached within two years, but the Hungarian Energy Office will not consent to building more windmills, because that level exceeds their quota of 330 megawatts. The MSZET is lobbying for this limit to be raised.

If excess energy is generated by windmills, then production of another power plant, for example, the Paks nuclear plant, has to be cut back, said Endre Slenker, associate of the Hungarian Energy Office, to explain why the limit is needed. This can reduce the life expectancy of the other power plants. Additionally, operating windmills is not cost effective, especially if other power plants need to be built for storing excess electricity generated by them. These are not yet available in Hungary, unlike in Austria, where water power plants are used to store extra energy.

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