Date: November 29
The largest battery energy storage system in Europe has been commissioned in the UK, near the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank. The project was developed by the British renewable energy company Harmony Energy and is the largest battery energy storage system in Europe measured per MWh.
The Pillswood project near Hull is powered by a 2-hour Tesla Megapack system and has the capacity to store up to 196 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity in a single cycle. This is enough electricity to power 300,000 UK homes for two hours.
Battery energy storage are rechargeable battery systems that store electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind turbines and solar farms, before releasing it at times of peak customer demand.
The Pillswood project will provide critical balancing services to the UK electricity grid, while enabling substitution of renewable energy for fossil fuels. The site is located next to the Creyke Beck substation of National Grid, the country’s transmission system operator, the same connection point proposed for phases A and B of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, the first phase of which will enter operational in summer 2023.
Batteries allow National Grid to maximize the efficiency of wind farms by reducing the time a wind farm needs to be offline due to supply-demand imbalances or grid limitations.
The project was originally scheduled to come online in two phases, in December 2022 and March 2023. However, the schedule has been accelerated to allow both phases to come online this month, in time to support National Grid in their efforts to provide stable and secure power to UK homes during the difficult winter period.
“Battery energy storage systems are essential to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK, and we hope this one in particular will highlight Yorkshire as a leader in green energy solutions,” said Peter Kavanagh, director of Harmony. Energy.
“These projects are not taxpayer-subsidized and will play an important role in contributing to the transition to Net Zero, as well as ensuring the future security of the UK’s energy supply and reducing reliance on foreign gas imports. ».
“All stakeholders have recognized the importance of getting this project energized before winter, and we would like to thank Tesla, G2 Energy, and Northern Powergrid for their efforts to deliver the project ahead of schedule despite a challenging geopolitical environment. very challenging global supply chain,” Kavanagh added.
Also a significant achievement for Harmony Energy Limited, this project marks the third, and largest, battery energy storage project the company has developed and delivered since construction.
Source: Peru Energy 2022
