U.K. Backs 4-Megawatt Battery Storage Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Battery storage projects continue to grow with a contract for a 4-megawatt (MW) project in South Wales awarded to energy services company KiWi Power (London, England) by U.K. grid regulator National Grid (NYSE:NGG) (London).

The 4-MW lithium-ion battery has been developed and financed by KiWi Power and will be located at Cenin Renewables, a 20-acre renewable energy site at Parc Stormy in Bridgend, South Wales. It will store power generated from an array of renewable energy projects on the site, including a low-carbon cement facility, 3,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, an anaerobic digestion plant and a wind turbine. The battery should be up and running by March next year.

Smart battery technology aims to improve the efficiency of the supply and consumption of electricity, particularly during times of peak demand, KiWi explained, adding that it allows large power users to harness energy storage with "no upfront investment or risk, helping them to reduce bills and carbon footprint."

"KiWi Power is delighted to bring the benefits of battery technology to high energy users without them having to invest in the battery," said Yoav Zingher, chief executive officer of KiWi Power. "This is a major first not just for us at KiWi, but for the U.K. energy sector as a whole. We are able to offer similar fully financed batteries so companies can optimise their energy usage, go green and earn money."

He added: "The U.K. is slowly waking up to the potential of flexibility and battery energy storage's role in that. By applying Demand Side Response (DSR) techniques widely used elsewhere in the world, the U.K. could save nearly 10 gigawatts (GW) of demand--roughly equivalent to three Hinkley Point C nuclear power stations."

Earlier this month, Industrial Info reported on the startup of one of the U.K.'s first industrial-scale battery storage projects at the Blackburn Meadows biomass plant owned by E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany) near Sheffield, England. The 10-MW lithium-ion battery plant will store power from the 30-MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant. For additional information, see October 13, 2017, article--Battery Storage Project Goes Live in the U.K.

Last year, National Grid held the world's first energy-storage auction, the Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) scheme. It attracted 37 bidders, most of which were pitching battery-storage solutions, and National Grid has awarded contracts to eight companies to provide 200 MW of grid-scale battery storage. It estimated the projects will save the country £200 million ($262 million). For additional information, see August 31, 2016, article - U.K. Bets Big on Battery Power.

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