UK-based firm redT energy storage has announced it will place six energy storage units, totaling 1.08MWh, at The Olde House, a working farm and holiday retreat in Cornwall, UK, to support the Cornish distributed energy grid.
Using vanadium redox flow technology, the machines were originally designed for the Isle of Gigha in Scotland, as part of a project to remove capacity constraints on the island’s community wind farm.
The batteries will be owned by redT. One remaining battery unit manufactured for the island will also be placed at a new site in due course, according to the announcement.
Scott McGregor, CEO of redT energy, said the redT machines will be coupled alongside two grid-connected solar arrays with a combined capacity of 350kWp and one of their key functions will be used to timeshift excess solar generation produced during the day for use during peak times when electricity from the grid is most expensive, which is known as “Solar firming”.
McGregor said: “redT’s liquid energy storage machines will also show how this type of technology, storing energy in liquid which doesn’t degrade, can provide the full portfolio of ‘stacked’ services rather than the single functions typically provided by batteries.”
Using redT’s energy storage machines, the site could save up to 50% on grid imports during peak times, the firm said. These services can include a combination of frequency response, STOR, participation in the capacity market and demand turn-up, redT said.
The cost of the installation is being supported by funding from energy services company Centrica, which will also work with the site owner to optimise the use of redT’s energy storage assets.
The Isle of Gigha project involves the UK government, which will continue to support the machines in Cornwall.