One of the UK’s biggest battery energy storage facilities to date has gone into operation in southeast England.
British Solar Renewables (BSR) said the 49.99-megawatt Stocking Pelham lithium-ion BESS, near Bishop’s Stortford, is connected to a nearby 400kV substation via a 132kV grid connection.
The system was supplied by Germany’s SMA Sunbelt Energy, a subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology. BSR said the 4,500 square metre facility “uses SMA’s proprietary ‘E-house’ design, which houses batteries and other equipment in custom-built prefabricated buildings”.
“This method reduced the site’s footprint by up to 50% when compared with designs using shipping containers,” BSR said.
The project is capable of delivering more than 60 mega volt amps (MVA) of power.
BSR said it completed construction of the BESS last December, but the project recently underwent refinancing and details of the commissioning were announced today (9 July). The facility is owned and operated by Statera Energy— a developer of flexible electricity generation and storage capacity.
To date, BSR has built 550MW of energy projects in the UK.
