Orsted places first bet on battery storage

Orsted has placed its first commercial bet on large-scale battery storage with the acquisition of a 20MW project near Liverpool due to be completed by the end of 2018.

The facility will be used to maintain the stability of the power grid by providing frequency response services to National Grid.

The completion of the Carnegie Road project will be assisted by the original developer, Shaw Energi. The grid connection agreement and permits are already in place and construction is scheduled to begin in May. NEC Energy Solutions has been selected as the battery system supplier.

“The future energy system will be completely transformed from what it is today, with a smarter, more flexible grid, balancing supply and demand with new technology and cleaner energy generation,” said Orsted UK managing director Matthew Wright.

“We want to continue to be at the forefront of this exciting shift towards a decarbonised energy system.”

He continued: “Acquiring the Carnegie Road plant is an important step forward as it’s our first commercial-scale battery storage project. We’re investing billions of pounds in the UK’s energy infrastructure and this is another significant investment that puts the UK at the heart of the global energy transition.”

Orsted head of energy storage and solar Ryan O’Keefe, said: “As batteries have a very high frequency response capability we believe they’ll play an important role in providing services for the support of the stability of the power grid.

“The demand for these services is likely to grow in the UK as the country is expected to decommission large parts of its carbon-based generation fleet and introduce more renewables generation.”

Last year Orsted installed a 2MW battery system at its Burbo Bank wind farm in Liverpool Bay to test the integration of storage with offshore wind generation.