UK clean energy developer Harmony Energy brought online Europe’s biggest battery energy storage system (by MWh) located in East Yorkshire on Monday.
The Pillswood project, near Hull, is managed by a Tesla 2-hour Megapack system and has the capacity to store up to 196 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity in a single cycle. This is enough electricity to power 300,000 UK homes for two hours.
Battery energy storage systems are rechargeable battery systems that store electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar farms before releasing it at times of high customer demand. The Pillswood project will provide critical balancing services to the GB electricity grid network whilst also enabling the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy.
The site is located adjacent to National Grid’s Creyke Beck substation, the same connection point proposed for phases A and B of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, which is set to go live on the first phase in Summer 2023. The batteries enable National Grid to maximize the efficiency of wind farms by reducing the amount of time a wind farm needs to be switched off due to supply/demand imbalances or network constraints.
The project was originally intended to become operational over two phases in December 2022 and March 2023. However, the timetable has accelerated to enable both phases to energize this month, in time to support National Grid in its efforts to provide stable and secure power to UK households over the challenging winter period.
“Battery energy storage systems are essential to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK, and we hope this particular one highlights Yorkshire as a leader in green energy solutions,” said Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy Director. “These projects are not supported by taxpayer subsidy and will play a major role in contributing to the Net Zero transition, as well as ensuring the future security of the UK’s energy supply and reduced reliance on foreign gas imports.”
“It is also a significant achievement for Harmony Energy Limited: this project is the third, and largest, battery energy storage project which we have developed and subsequently delivered through construction,” he added.
