© Supplied by DCT Media/Root-Power In this week’s Charging Forward, Root-Power has unveiled a flow battery project it will bid into the UK’s long duration energy storage (LDES) cap and floor scheme.
In Scotland, Anesco has secured planning consent for a 70 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) next to the Persley wastewater treatment plant in Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, Scottish pumped storage hydro (PSH) developer Glen Earach Energy has announced it will commit 5% of gross margin revenues to Highland communities.
This week’s energy storage headlines:
- Root-Power unveils flow battery LDES cap and floor bid
- Glen Earrach Energy to commit £20m per year to Highland communities
- EnergyPathways selects Zenith Energy for MESH storage project
- Wärtsilä and EDF Renewables expand UK BESS partnership
- Anesco secures consent for 70 MW Aberdeen BESS
- BESS safety debated in House of Commons
- Harmony Energy and One Plant Developments secure BESS consents
- International energy storage news: Nissan EV batteries used for BESS at Rome airport
Root-Power unveils flow battery LDES cap and floor bid
Root-Power has submitted a 300 MW/2400 MWh flow battery project into the UK government’s LDES cap and floor scheme.
The cap and floor scheme aims to spur investment in UK LDES projects by providing revenue support to developers.
The scheme is spread across two streams to provide support for mature technologies, such as pumped storage hydro, alongside a separate stream for emerging and novel technologies like flow batteries and liquid air energy systems.
Root-Power said its LDES project will utilise vanadium flow battery (VFB) systems across four locations in West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
LDES forms a major component of the Labour government’s clean power by 2030 ambitions, with the government targeting between 2.7 GW and 7.7 GW of capacity by 2035.
Root-Power managing director Neil Brooks said the Greater Manchester-based company hopes to work with Ofgem to “make the LDES initiative a success”.
“Whether its two- to four-hour lithium-ion batteries or eight-hour vanadium flow batteries, Root-Power is committed to taking a leading role in delivering essential infrastructure for the future,” Brooks said.
Glen Earrach commits £20m per year to Highland communities
Scottish pumped storage hydro developer Glen Earrach Energy (GEE) has announced plans to commit 5% of its gross margin revenues to Highland communities.
GEE said the proposed scheme will support long-term community investment and provide over £20m per year throughout the operational lifetime of the project.
The community wealth fund will focus on investments in four areas including housing and infrastructure, jobs and skills, environmental projects, and community wellbeing.
Located at Balmacaan Estate in the Highlands, the 34 GWh Glen Earrach project will be one of the largest energy storage schemes in the UK once complete.
The project is among a range of PSH projects in development in Scotland designed to store excess renewable energy and reduce the need for wind curtailment.
© Supplied by Glen Earrach EnergyLiberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire Angus MacDonald said he has long advocated for renewable energy developers to commit 5% of their revenues to local communities.
“That idea was rooted in the belief that if rural areas are asked to host nationally significant infrastructure, they should see lasting, tangible benefit in return,” he said.
“Glen Earrach Energy committing to 5% of gross margin is recognition that communities deserve a meaningful stake in the transition happening around them.
“This shows what’s possible when developers take local leadership seriously, and I hope it sets a precedent across the sector.”
GEE director Roderick MacLeod said the community wealth fund aims to create long-term value for communities living near the project.
“We have listened carefully to local priorities and worked with communities and partners to develop a model that is transparent, independent and built for the future,” he said.
“Our aim is simple: to create a fund that delivers real impact, not just for the next few years, but for the next hundred and beyond.”
EnergyPathways selects Zenith Energy for MESH storage project
Offshore gas storage developer EnergyPathways has selected Aberdeen’s Zenith Energy to serve as the well operator for its Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) project.
EnergyPathways describes the MESH project as an “integrated energy storage hub” which combines natural gas, green hydrogen and compressed air storage technologies.
Centred on the Marram field located 11 miles off the coast of Blackpool, the MESH project could provide up to 20 TWh of storage capacity once complete.
The plans also involve 400 MW of long duration energy storage and 700 MW of low-carbon flexible power.
EnergyPathways aims to repurpose existing oil and gas infrastructure and provide transition opportunities for offshore workers, while powering the facility with renewable energy from nearby offshore windfarms.
Wärtsilä and EDF Renewables to expand UK BESS partnership
Finnish firm Wärtsilä Energy Storage and France’s EDF Renewables have announced a deal to expand their partnership on UK BESS projects.
Wärtsilä said construction has started on two additional BESS projects, adding to the existing portfolio of six sites it is developing for EDF.
The two additional projects include the 47.5 MW/95 MWh Indian Queens BESS in Cornwall and the 50 MW/100 MWh Bredbury BESS in Greater Manchester.
© Supplied by EDF RenewablesThe Bredbury site is set for completion by the end of 2025, while Indian Queens will come online in the first half of 2026.
Altogether, Wärtsilä said the eight projects will deliver 404.5 MW/709 MWh of energy storage capacity across the UK.
Wärtsilä sales director for Europe Chris Wolf said the partnership with EDF Renewables is delivering “tangible progress toward a 100% renewable energy future”.
Anesco secures consent for 70 MW Aberdeen BESS
Reading-based solar and battery storage developer Anesco has secured consent from the Scottish government for a BESS project near Aberdeen.
The 70 MW storage project will be located on land near the Persley wastewater treatment plant, according to planning documents.
The site will contain up to 30 battery storage units on a site off Granitehill Terrace, and Anesco said the project will increase grid capacity in the region and provide greater potential for renewable energy generation.
According to the decision notice, members of the public raised concerns about fire safety, noise pollution and the proximity to local businesses and housing states.
However, Scottish ministers determined that, on balance, the “impacts of the
proposed development are acceptable in the context of its benefits”.
BESS safety debated in House of Commons
UK MPs have raised concerns that the government risks repeating the mistakes of the Grenfell disaster unless safety regulations on battery storage units are brought forward.
Liberal Democrat John Milne said there were “alarming parallels” with the systemic failure which led to the west London tower block fire.
Speaking in the Commons, Milne accused the government of being “too complacent” as he called for enforceable regulations for BESS design and construction.
The MP for Horsham said: “The Grenfell disaster was the end result of many failings by both individuals and companies, but at its heart it was a failure of regulation.
“The rules left things wide open for exploitation by cost-cutting developers, and that is exactly what happened.
“Just as with lithium-ion batteries, a new technology, in this case cladding, was being used at scale for the first time without proper understanding of the risks. The time to act is now.”
Harmony Energy and One Plant Developments BESS approvals
Battery storage developer Harmony Energy has secured planning consent for a 99.9 MW BESS project near Castleford.
Wakefield Council approved the plans for the site, despite receiving objections from 49 local residents.
Fellow BESS developer One Plant Developments has also secured planning consent for a 95 MW project less than half a mile away at Ferrybridge.
One Plant Developments said it had chosen the location due to its proximity to the Ferrybridge C substation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The firm said: “There are no residential properties in the immediate vicinity of the application site, and the proposed development is not likely to affect any significant number of people.
“Given that the proposed BESS will be an unmanned facility, with access required only for occasional maintenance inspections, and there being no public access to the site, there are no particular access issues that require to be addressed.”
Wakefield Council approved the plans, which received one objection from the public.
International energy storage news
Nissan Leaf batteries used for BESS at Rome airport
Italy’s largest airport has unveiled a 10 MWh energy storage system which uses second-life batteries from EVs.
The Pioneer project at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport is a collaboration between Enel, Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) and Germany’s Fraunhofer research institute.
The project, which is integrated with an onsite solar farm, transformed 762 battery backs from Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis vehicles into a BESS.
© Supplied by StellantisItalian enterprise minister Adolfo Urso said the Pioneer BESS is the first project of its kind in Italy.
“This is an initiative that integrates circular economy and digitalisation through an innovative system for reusing spent electric vehicle batteries and generating energy to support national competitiveness,” Urso said.
ADR said the Pioneer BESS will abate 16,000 tonnes of CO2 over ten years, with the project supported by the European Agency for Climate, Environment and Infrastructure (CINEA).
Charging Forward, bringing you the latest in UK and international energy storage news, is kindly sponsored by ABB BESS-as-a-Service.
