What is thought to be Europe’s biggest battery energy storage system (by MWh) has begun operating in East Yorkshire.
Developed by Harmony Energy Limited and employing a Tesla 2-hour Megapack system, the company says its Pillswood project can store up to 196 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity in a single cycle – enough electricity to power around 300,000 UK homes for two hours.
The project, located near Hull, will provide “critical balancing services” to the UK electricity grid network whilst also enabling the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy, Harmony Energy says.
The site is located adjacent to National Grid’s Creyke Beck substation, which will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when it goes live next year.
Harmony Energy says that batteries enable the National Grid to maximise the efficiency of wind farms by reducing the amount of time a wind farm needs to be switched off due to supply and demand imbalances or network constraints.
Battery energy storage systems are essential to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK.
Construction of the Pillswood project was been managed by Tesla and the project was originally intended to become operational over two phases in December 2022 and March 2023, but Harmony Energy says the timetable was accelerated to enable both phases to support the National Grid over “the challenging winter period.”
Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy Director, said: “Battery energy storage systems are essential to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK, and we hope this particular one highlights Yorkshire as a leader in green energy solutions.
“These projects are not supported by taxpayer subsidy and will play a major role in contributing to the Net Zero transition, as well as ensuring the future security of the UK’s energy supply and reduced reliance on foreign gas imports.”