UK ROUNDUP: Fotowatio’s first, Listed funds going all-in, UK’s £125 billion pipeline
This week's roundup comes once again from the pages of our UK sister sites, where there's been plenty of action.
Articles tagged with: Britain
Solar-plus-storage with smart controls could cut 97% of evening peak, UK study finds
A combination of residential solar, storage and smart controls could "dramatically reduce" evening peak grid usage at homes in Britain.
EDF, Green Investment Group and Gore Street behind hundreds more megawatts of UK storage
French utility EDF is launching a major solar-plus-battery storage hybrid initiative in England and Wales as part of plans to double its installed renewable base.
Feature
Analysis
UK, Ireland energy storage primed for growth - key stakeholders see multi-GW market opportunities
This article looks at the current status of each of these end-markets and where there are similarities and differences in how the markets have developed, along with future opportunities.
Highview’s 250MWh liquid air battery gets £10m UK gov’t grant, kicks off construction this year
The UK government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced a £10 million (US$12.44 million) grant to help construct the world's largest liquid air battery.
Britishvolt’s billion-pound battery gigafactory narrows down site selection
South Wales is likely to be the location for the UK’s first lithium-ion 'gigaplant', as Britishvolt announces plans to combine the site with solar.
UK industry says more energy storage is needed, as COVID-19 offers glimpse of low carbon future
Industry voices in the UK have said that electricity market activity during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the network will become prohibitively expensive and possibly unmanageable without the further rapid deployment of energy storage.
Statkraft signs ‘hybrid’ PPA, optimisation contract for UK solar-plus-storage facility
The contract is for the 35MW hybrid York solar farm designed and constructed by developer GRIDSERVE, which was completed late last year.
Developer offers clarity on battery safety assurances at UK’s biggest proposed solar farm
Battery energy storage deployed at Cleve Hill, the largest solar farm planned in the UK to date, will be installed and operated in line with a safety plan agreed with local fire services and the national Health and Safety Executive.
Sector-coupling demonstrator project in UK will integrate low carbon energy, heat and transport
A £31 million (US$38.06 million) demonstrator project in the UK, integrating heat, transport and energy is to progress despite COVID-19 restrictions.
Battery storage trialled to provide upward and downward flexibility to UK’s National Grid
Battery software company Arenko has teamed up with National Grid ESO to provide upward and downward reserve flexibility in a "first of its kind trial".
UK energy storage maturing from ‘false sense of security’ of contracted revenues
Merchant energy storage has become an investable asset class in the UK, a provider of battery optimisation services has said, with the market moving away from an emphasis on contracted revenue streams for supplying grid services.
Majority of ready-to-build UK battery storage projects are bigger than 30MW
There are 1.3GW of read-to-build battery storage projects in the UK, with the majority between 30MW and 49.9MW power output per project, according to new analysis from Solar Media Market Research.
UK ROUNDUP: Market reaches 1GW, RedT-Avalon merger completes, Flexibility contracts launched
A roundup of news in brief from the energy storage industry, this time with a special focus on the UK market.
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Analysis
Europe: Creating a sustainable power system for the future
Paul Verrill, director of energy data analysis & consultancy firm EnAppSys, explains how renewable energy generation, with the integration of smart grid technologies and efficiency energy storage systems, can create a sustainable power system for the future.
Batteries to provide reactive power services to UK electric grid
Batteries are to be used for reactive power services for the UK grid as part of a ‘world-first’ project to create a new reactive power market for distributed energy resources.
Feature
Interviews
#ESSummit2020: Gridserve on building a business case in the face of ‘investor disconnect’
Investors are queuing "all the way down the street" but many require the first projects to be built before committing, Gridserve's chief investment officer Mark Henderson has said.
Shut out of UK’s Capacity Market, battery storage registers as DSR instead - and wins
Battery storage assets in the UK successfully landed capacity agreements in last week’s T-3 Capacity Market auction by listing as demand side response (DSR) assets.
Voltalia granted planning permission for 40MW UK solar project with energy storage
French renewables company Voltalia has gained planning permission for a 40MW solar farm with battery storage in Dorset, England.
“Unless you understand the investor point of view, decarbonisation won’t happen”
The success of efforts to decarbonise economies in the UK and elsewhere could hinge largely on how governments and business communities – particularly large commercial lenders – engage with the sector in 2020, a UK-based financier of solar and storage has said.
Feature
Guest blog
Long duration CAES and the affordable energy transition
Storelectric CTO Mark Howitt puts forward the case for his company's 'innovative' adiabatic compressed air energy storage, which he claims is a long duration technology complementary to other existing and advanced tech such as batteries.
Ørsted partners REMAP for third party battery optimisation services
Ørsted has appointed REMAP as its marketing agent for its flexible generation and revenue optimisation services in the UK.
Subsidy-free bifacial solar PV-plus-storage project completed in England
GRIDSERVE has completed a “game changing” hybrid solar-plus-storage farm in York, UK, claiming it to be the first in the country to boast single-axis trackers and bifacial panels.
Santander invests US$33m into UK battery developer Zenobe’s growth plan
UK battery storage firm Zenobe has secured £25 million (US$32.93 million) in funding from Santander as it looks to continue its growth.
Drax: Net zero impossible for UK without ten-fold increase in energy storage capacity
Britain will need at least 30GW of energy storage if it hopes to reach net zero by 2050, according to new research.
Pivot Power keeping watching brief on changing UK energy storage planning rules
Pivot Power is to keep a watching brief on changing planning regulations pertaining to energy storage in the UK, opening up the developer to increasing the capacity of some projects within its portfolio.
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Analysis
Flex and flexibility
Power markets are evolving and beginning to value flexibility ahead of generation. As the UK’s networks companies move to embrace flexible generation assets, Liam Stoker spoke to some of the country’s leading providers to identify the hurdles and solutions to a more flexible power grid.
Vanadium producer Bushveld backs redT-Avalon flow battery merger deal
Vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has offered its backing to the merger of UK energy storage provider redT with US vanadium redox flow battery maker Avalon Battery, providing a loan to help the deal get over the line - and to help its own vertical integration ambitions.
PODCAST: From here to net zero, collaborations and partnerships, #storageITC and more
Solar Media's Liam Stoker and Andy Colthorpe are back for episode three of the Solar Media Podcast after what's been a bumper month for energy storage.
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Analysis
Batteries and the blackout: how energy storage saved the UK’s grid
At 4:52pm on Friday 9 August 2019, the UK suffered its first wide-scale blackout in more than a decade. More than 1.1 million consumers were plunged into the dark as rail lines screeched to a halt, traffic lights failed and even airports reported problems. Liam Stoker looks at the root causes, and how battery storage came to the rescue.