Standard content for Members only

To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.

If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.

Become a member

Start 14 day trial

Login Register

Orsted to attach 300MW battery to Hornsea Three offshore wind farm

Orsted has confirmed plans to attach a 300MW/600MWh battery storage system to the Hornsea Three offshore wind farm.  

The battery will be located in Swardeston near Norwich on the same site as the onshore converter station for the 2.9GW wind farm.  

Hornsea Three is part of a massive 8GW cluster of offshore wind projects being built by Orsted off the east coast of England. The Hornsea One and Two projects (1.2GW and 1.3GW respectively) are already operating. 

Hornsea Three, which will be located 160km off the coast of Yorkshire, is due to be completed in 2027 after the company made a final investment decision in December. The co-located battery is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.   

Duncan Clark, head of Orsted UK and Ireland, said: “The battery will help ensure that renewable energy is used in the best possible way by storing it when demand is lower and then releasing it back into the system when it’s really needed. This maximises the potential of renewable energy whilst providing increased energy security and value to consumers.” 

Orsted secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) for Hornsea Three in the fourth allocation round in 2022 at a strike price of £37.35/MWh (2012 prices). However, the developer has withdrawn some of the wind farm’s capacity from this contract and re-entered it into the sixth allocation round, which kicked off in March.  

The company was granted a development consent order for its 2.6GW Hornsea Four project in July last year.