National Grid is set to accelerate the connection of up to 10GW of battery energy storage projects in England and Wales, UK.
In an announcement made yesterday (6 November), the transmission system operator (TSO) for the UK grid in Great Britain (GB) revealed that 19 battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, totalling around 10GW, will be offered dates to plug in, on average, four years earlier than their current agreement. The projects set to benefit from this were not disclosed.
National Grid said this is part of a new approach which removes the need for non-essential engineering works prior to connecting storage.
The freed BESS capacity adds to the 10GW of capacity unlocked for power generators with “shovel ready” projects revealed in September 2023.
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This is the latest attempt to solve the grid connection woes that are currently plaguing the country’s energy system.
National Grid ESO, a separate arm of the organisation which is responsible for running the electricity system, published a five-point plan to speed up grid connections in June which it said could help projects connect to the grid between 2-10 years faster.
One of the core aspects of this was to speed up the connection of battery storage projects and thus ESO has welcomed the latest news.
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