Battery energy storage system (BESS) and EV solutions firm Zenobē Energy has started construction on a 300MW/600MWh project in Scotland, after securing project financing.
Zenobē Energy will use the £147 million (US$187 million) funding arranged by retail banking company NatWest to build the Kilmarnock South project which is anticipated to come online in late 2025.
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The two-hour duration BESS will be used to reduce the cost of wasted wind generation in Scotland and therefore reduce energy prices for consumers.
In a statement, the company confirmed it will work with several suppliers to deliver the BESS site. This includes SMA Solar Technology AG, which will provide battery inverters and medium voltage power stations, with Wärtsilä appointed as the BESS supplier.
Omexom will provide a balance of plant works and GE Grid Solutions, a business of GE Vernova, will deliver two 180MVA transformers to the project.
Zenobē Energy topped the list of venture capital (VC) funding deals in the energy storage sector last year according to research firm Mercom Capital, thanks to its US$1 billion fundraise from new and existing investors finalised in September.
Race to build the biggest BESS in Europe
The Kilmarnock South project is one of the largest BESS in Europe currently under construction, slightly smaller than a 320MW/640MWh one in Yorkshire that SSE Renewables started building in November 2023.
Various recently-announced projects have been claimed as the ‘largest BESS in Europe’ (though note neither Zenobē nor SSE did for theirs). The largest online by MWh capacity are two 99MW/198MWh systems in the UK both owned by Harmony Energy.
German developer Kyon Energy claimed the title for a 275MWh project it got planning approval for in November, utility and independent power producer (IPP) Engie has recently claimed the same for a 200MW (MWh undisclosed) project in Belgium, part of a trio it proposed last year.
Another 200MW project, with an 800MWh capacity being built in Italy by another utility and IPP Enel for a 2024 commissioning, was also recently claimed as the biggest in Europe by its designers.
Dutch developer Giga Storage recently claimed it was developing the largest project in Europe, a 2,400MWh system in Belgium, with construction to start this year.
Part of this article was taken from one originally posted on our sister site Solar Power Portal.
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