Centrica, Ørsted and E.ON battery unveil new battery storage facilities

First, Centrica Business Solutions has completed construction of what it calls one of the largest battery storage facilities in Europe, the 49 MW Roosecote battery in Cumbria, at the site of a former coal-fired power station, and subsequently the UK’s first combined cycle gas-fired power station.

The battery, which is able to come on-line in less than a second to meet fluctuations in demand, is able to hold enough power for around 50,000 homes, says Centrica. It helps to keep the power network stable by either absorbing power from, or supplying power to, the grid. 

Construction took around 18 months to complete. The battery will now be operated remotely from Centrica’s Energy Centre in Peterborough. 

Meanwhile, offshore wind farm developer has announced that its first standalone battery energy storage system, at Carnegie Road in Liverpool, is now operational. The 20 MW battery consists of three battery containers, as well as the associated power conversion system, all supplied by NEC.

Ørsted also has a 2 MW battery located behind the meter at its Burbo Bank offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay. This project supports the 90 MW wind farm’s production scheduling, as well as providing some grid services.

One of the key actions in keeping the UK’s electricity grid balanced and stable is ensuring that the amount of electricity generated matches the amount of electricity used at any given moment, says Ørsted. Battery storage systems are able to provide a flexible response to grid needs and are therefore a valuable component of a modern, decarbonised energy system.

Last, and at a rather smaller scale, the Gyle at Edinburgh Park Premier Inn has become the hotel chain’s first ‘battery-powered’ hotel. Whitbread-owned Premier Inn is trialling a new 100 kW lithium ion battery at the 200-room site to help the hotel better manage its energy consumption.

The battery functions by drawing power from the National Grid during off-peak periods and it has capacity to run the hotel for up to three hours. It will be used for at least 2–3 hours per day on-site, depending on the needs of National Grid, says project partner E.ON. The installation is expected to save the hotel £20,000 per year in energy savings alone.

E.ON has supplied and installed the battery technology and will be remotely managing the battery’s workload and efficiency from its energy management centre in Glasgow.

Premier Inn is already the industry’s widest adopter of solar panels, says E.ON, and the trial of the battery storage technology at its Edinburgh Park site marks another step towards meeting Whitbread’s commitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2025.