SMS begins building 270MW battery fleet

SMS has begun building a 270MW fleet of batteries, starting with a 50MW project at Burwell in Cambridgeshire.

Work on a second 40MW facility at Barnsley in South Yorkshire will also commence later this month as the smart meter installer makes its entry into the grid-scale energy storage market.

SMS is aiming to build out its initial 270MW pipeline over the next two years. The Burwell project is slated for completion in the final quarter of 2021 and the Barnsley project soon after.  The company will operate, maintain and trade the batteries for the entirety of their expected 40-year lifespans.

Chief operating office Tim Mortlock said: “With construction underway to establish 90MW of battery storage in Burwell and Barnsley, today signifies SMS’s arrival in the utility-scale storage market.

“Over time, we are aiming to establish a strong pipeline in this space, building on decades of dedication and expertise in developing Britain’s low-carbon energy infrastructure. This includes our continued national rollout of smart meters and several ongoing projects to develop smart energy systems across a range of distributed generation, storage, heat and electric vehicle charging solutions.”

He continued: “The case for battery storage and the wider benefits they deliver to the grid is undoubted. When operational, our batteries will play an important role in improving the adoption of cleaner, lower-cost renewables and help bolster system resilience as we come to rely on more intermittent forms of generation.

“An increased capacity of batteries on the grid will, in many ways, also contribute to a more affordable energy system for consumers. These benefits are central pillars of the government’s net-zero 2050 target, and our business strategy is to deliver the network of low-carbon assets needed to reach that goal as soon as possible.”