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SSE has signed a contract with Wartsila to build its first grid-scale battery storage facility in the UK – a 50MW/100MWh system at Salisbury in Wiltshire that will be connected directly to the transmission network.
The project is being developed by SSE’s new solar and battery division, which has secured a 380MW pipeline of projects over the last year and currently has another 1GW of sites under assessment.
SSE acquired the Salisbury project from Harmony Energy in August last year. Construction is due to begin this summer, with the battery system being energised in summer 2023.
Richard Cave-Bigley, SSE’s director of solar and battery, said: “Today is a key milestone for SSE as we build out our first battery storage project at Salisbury, but it is also just the beginning of a multi-GW pipeline of solar and battery projects to come.
“Battery storage has a key role to play in helping the UK to decarbonise by ensuring we make the most of the increasing levels of renewable energy coming onto the grid.
“SSE is investing £24 billion over this decade (circa £7 million a day) in low-carbon infrastructure of this kind and we are delighted to be working alongside Wartsila to provide the balancing and flexibility services we need to help the UK get to net zero.”
Kenneth Engblom, vice president of Europe and Africa for Wartsila Energy, said: “The UK can capitalise on its massive potential for renewable energy by building more of it right now, but energy storage must not be overlooked – effectively balancing the intermittency of renewables is the missing part of the net zero puzzle.
“If properly deployed, energy storage will enable the grid to deal with fluctuations in renewable energy supply and ensure that the end users of energy have secured power supply as we switch to cheaper, cleaner energy.
“This project is a big moment for us as we help one of the UK’s largest energy players scale up renewable energy and provide more British consumers with reliable, low-cost, and clean energy.”
In January, SSE also acquired a 30MW solar farm in Worcestershire from Stark Energy that is due to be completed in 2023.
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