UK council approves 20MW storage system for grid stabilisation

Image: Energy Reservoirs.
A local authority in the UK has approved planning permission for the construction of a 20MW energy storage system which will provide real-time grid stabilisation to the local distribution network.

Developer Energy Reservoirs now has three years to begin construction of the system, which will be comprised of batteries housed in ten containers on a greenfield site to the west of Clay Hill Pitch, Dormington. The site is in the county of Herefordshire in the west of England, which has enjoyed a significant rise in renewable generation capacity, mostly from ground mount solar farms, in the past few years.

According to the original planning documents, the system will be connected directly to the adjacent substation to provide energy storage capacity to the National Grid. It will allow excess electricity generated from a variety of renewable and conventional sources to be stored in the batteries during times of low-demand.

This stored capacity can then be fed back into the grid during times of peak demand, which can coincide with times of low generation.

In terms of other potential revenue streams, a spokesperson for Energy Reservoirs said the process of prequalifying for the capacity market - auctions to ensure Britain's 'lights stay on' - was “an expensive job” for a battery due to the high bid bond required, while arbitrage “doesn't really work yet sadly”.

The project is therefore expected to rely on providing frequency balancing services as the main revenue stream.

However, the spokesperson added that the company intended to take part in National Grid’s next tender after failing to win in the recent EFR competition.

Energy Reservoirs has yet to appoint a supplier and is currently attracting quotes from a number of potential partners, the majority of which are offering lithium-ion batteries.