Thursday, March 28, 2024

Work starts on battery storage plant at former Lincolnshire gas power station

Centrica Business Solutions has revealed plans to convert a decommissioned Lincolnshire gas-fired power station into a battery storage facility capable of supplying the equivalent of a full day’s energy consumption for 11,000 households.

Working in partnership with GE, the company has started construction on a 50MW /100MWh battery storage project at Brigg, which will provide energy storage for the 43 onshore wind farms across Lincolnshire, maximising the potential of every megawatt of green electricity and providing vital resilience for the grid. Storing renewable energy in this way makes it possible to better control the peaks and troughs associated with renewable energy generation – charging the batteries when electricity demand is low and discharging when demand peaks. The battery installed at Brigg represents the largest investment in storage capacity Centrica has made to date. It will have the capacity to store 100MWh of electric energy, equivalent to a full day’s energy consumption for around 15 per cent of the homes in North Lincolnshire.

The battery storage system, supplied by GE, will provide grid support and energy services that will not only provide stability to the grid when there are power disruptions but also ensure renewable energy is utilised optimally, which should free capacity to allow more new renewable generation on the network.

Greg McKenna, Managing Director of Centrica Business Solutions, said: “Investing in low-carbon energy assets that boost the UK’s ability to store more renewable energy is key to getting to Net Zero. Lincolnshire has 242MW of onshore wind power capacity, but when supply outstrips demand some of those green electrons will go to waste if not stored. Working with GE we’ll store green energy produced locally and use it as efficiently as possible.

“As the UK’s power generation capacity becomes more distributed and the share of renewables increases, generation flexibility becomes critical to keep the lights on securely, sustainably, and affordably. Brigg battery storage investment will ensure we can maximise the use of the green energy generated by nearby wind farms – storing when the wind blows and discharging when it doesn’t.”

Prakash Chandra, renewable hybrids Chief Executive Officer at GE, said: “The UK has been one of the earliest and largest players in the battery energy storage space and the installed capacity keeps growing. However, there is a need for more if the country wants to achieve its Net Zero emission target for the power sector by 2035. We are glad to bring another project to life together with Centrica.”

Brigg battery storage is set to be fully operational in late 2023 with plans to run the site for 25 years. The solution implemented will be a 2-hour duration system with GE’s flexible duration architecture that will allow Centrica to modify the duration of the system in response to future grid needs and market opportunities.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our news site - please take a moment to read this important message:

As you know, our aim is to bring you, the reader, an editorially led news site and magazine but journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having a major impact on our industry as a whole, the advertising revenues we normally receive, which helps us cover the cost of our journalists and this website, have been drastically affected.

As such we need your help. If you can support our news sites/magazines with either a small donation of even £1, or a subscription to our magazine, which costs just £27.55 per year, (inc p&P and mailed direct to your door) your generosity will help us weather the storm and continue in our quest to deliver quality journalism.

As a subscriber, you will have unlimited access to our web site and magazine. You'll also be offered VIP invitations to our events, preferential rates to all our awards and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Just click here to subscribe and in the meantime may I wish you the very best.

Advertisment












Latest posts

Spalding Heritage Strategy – Have your say

South Holland District Council is working with Heritage Lincolnshire and local people to create a heritage strategy for Spalding as part of Spalding Reconnected,...

Grantham’s NHS Community Diagnostic Centre expands

Facilities at Grantham’s Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) have been expanded to include state-of-the-art MRI and CT scanners. The £5 million investment in the site on...

Lincolnshire councils get share of £295m to create weekly food waste collections

Lincolnshire councils are to be given a share in £295 million  to invest in regular food waste collections. The money is expected to fund weekly...

Council takes ownership of hotel in Sleaford

In a move which will secure a prestigious hotel business, protect jobs and broaden its economic and social benefits, North Kesteven District Council has...

New ‘WordFest’ coming to West Lindsey

A new festival is coming to West Lindsey this year, which promises to bring people together through words, pictures, sounds and music. WordFest, which is...

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close