Planning permission has been granted for a compound of “up to 25 battery storage units along with ancillary structures” in the English city of York.
According to documents filed with the City of York Council, the site “will have the potential to supply up to 50 megawatts of electrical power into the National Grid for a period of up to an hour”.
The council has granted permission for UK Battery Storage Ltd to operate the units for a 20-year period, after which “the site would be decommissioned and restored to its current state”.
All of the units will be housed in steel containers on a site “immediately adjacent to the Oswaldwick substation, which is part of and operated by the National Grid”.
The battery storage systems will be coupled with an 11kW switchgear unit, an auxiliary transformer, and a standby emergency generator.
The storage compound is being commissioned to “provide electrical energy storage as part of the National Grid’s strategy to decarbonise and safeguard the UK energy supply”, UK Battery Storage said.
According to UK Battery Storage, the company is “not committed to the use of any specific supplier or battery technology” and will conduct a tender process to select the best option. “The current favoured battery technology is, however, lithium-ion”.
UK Battery Storage, based in West Yorkshire, has said it is “seeking to develop a range of energy storage facilities to complement its existing portfolio of operating renewable energy projects”. The company did not respond to a request by BEST Battery Briefing for details.
Meanwhile, utility ScottishPower has announced plans for a 50MW battery storage project at Whitelee, the UK’s largest onshore windfarm, as part of a £2 billion (US$2.6bn) energy infrastructure investment programme. The company has yet to announce the battery technology to be deployed.
