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Three BESS projects in UK granted approval, as largest-ever solar plant also gets nod
11/9/2024
News
Three new UK battery energy storage systems (BESS) and a 150 MW capacity solar farm have won government approval.
Scottish government approves Smeaton BESS
The Scottish government has given Kona Energy the green light for the construction and operation of the Smeaton battery energy storage system (BESS), a 228 MW/456 MWh project near Dalkeith, East Lothian.
The Smeaton BESS will store energy from renewable sources and release it during peak demand, enhancing grid resilience by reducing constraints. It is expected to save 15,368 tCO2e in its first year of operation.
National Grid ESO estimates that constraint costs could reach as high as £3bn in 2029, with the bulk of this coming from curtailing wind in Scotland. Projects such as the Smeaton BESS will be key to bringing these costs down, says Kona Energy. With the nearby Torness nuclear power station due to shut down in 2028, the project will also play a key role in improving local network stability, it adds.
The company recently wrote a proposal paper, in partnership with Zenobē, Eku and Field, in response to the ESO’s Constraints Collaboration Project, illustrating how ESO can use batteries to rapidly reduce the public cost of constraints.
Go-ahead given for Hinckley BESS and Maldon BESS online
In related news, in England, Balance Power has secured planning approval from the UK government for its planned 49.5 MW/99 MWh Hinckley BESS project in south-west Leicestershire.
The project is expected to prevent around 9,000 t/y of CO2 emissions. It also features a biodiversity enhancement scheme, ‘offering broader environmental benefits and protecting existing wildlife’, reports the operator.
The storage facility is expected to be operational by October 2025.
Meanwhile, Eku Energy’s 40 MW/40 MWh BESS in Maldon, Essex, has come online. It is the company’s first UK project to reach commercial operation.
UK’s largest solar farm given green light
In other news, to the east, Island Green Power’s Cottam solar and energy storage project on the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border has been awarded development consent by the UK government.
To be located at the decommissioned Cottam coal-fired power station, the project will include three electricity generating stations, each with anticipated capacity in excess of 50 MW, with ground-mounted solar arrays and associated energy storage.
The project is expected to replace around 30% of the former generation capacity of the coal-powered power station, which was closed in 2019.
