Image by: EDF Renewables UK.
France’s EDF Renewables is currently constructing 313 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the UK, planning to get them online during the next 12 months, the company's UK unit said on Tuesday.
The capacity will come from six battery facilities, which together could provide enough power to meet the needs of over 400,000 houses for two hours, according to EDF Renewables UK.
Among the projects currently under construction are a 57-MW battery in Essex and another 47.5-MW battery in Cornwall.
The EDF Group’s renewables company has more than 150 MW of BESS already in operation in the UK, with sites situated in Oxfordshire, Kent and the West Midlands. It said it had recently energised a 52-MW battery in Sundon, Bedfordshire, and secured planning permission for a 47.5-MW BESS project in Mannington in Dorset.
The overall plans is to deliver up to 2 GW of transmission-connected batteries. Besides those 313 MW under construction, EDF Renewables UK has more than 400 MW of consented battery projects.
“Our upcoming project pipeline will strengthen the UK’s capacity to integrate more renewables, and will allow the grid to be more flexible and resilient by managing electricity supply and demand,” said Simone Sullivan, Head of Solar, Storage and Private Wire at EDF Renewables UK.
The UK’s Labour-led government has committed to triple solar capacity to 50 GW, quadruple offshore wind to 55 GW and double onshore wind to 35 GW by the end of the decade. The UK will require between 20 GW to 30 GW of battery storage by 2030 to meet net zero pathways outlined by the national grid operator, the renewables company added.