E.ON has completed the installation and grid connection of a 10MW lithium-ion battery at the Blackburn Meadows biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant near Sheffield in the UK.
The Germany-based energy firm said the battery will support power fed to the National Grid from Blackburn Meadows— a 30MW CHP plant that converts recycled waste wood into electricity to power around 40,000 homes.
E.ON said its battery for the project was selected following a National Grid enhanced frequency response (EFR) tender to deliver technologies capable of responding in less than one second at times of either an over- or under-supply of energy to the grid.
E.ON’s director of business heat and power solutions David Topping said the company is the “first EFR operator to complete the installation and bring our system online” in the UK.
“This is a milestone for E.ON in the new energy world and an important recognition of the enormous potential for battery solutions in the UK,” Topping said.
National Grid commercial development manager Leon Walker said: “Using battery storage is a significant development for managing the national grid. It’s an ultra-fast way of keeping electricity supply and demand balanced. Over four years we estimate that this service will save the system operator around GBP200m ($266m). This is good news for consumers who benefit from our cost efficiencies, and paves the way for battery technology to establish itself as an important component of our energy system.”
The UK project follows deployments by E.ON’s North America subsidiary of lithium-ion battery storage facilities to enhance grid performance in the US.
