British Solar Renewables (BSR) announced Monday that it completed construction of its 49.99 megawatt (MW) flagship battery storage project near Bishop's Stortford, which it said was the country's largest of its kind.
The construction of Stocking Pelham, which is capable of delivering more than 60 megavolt-ampere (MVA) (60 MW) of power, was completed in December 2017 in less than six months, a statement on the company's website said.
The construction followed selection of BSR as the principal contractor by German SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH (SMA), a fully-owned subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, which specializes in large-scale battery storage projects.
"The project was recently re-financed, making it not only the largest constructed battery storage facility in the U.K. but also a first for U.K. large-scale battery storage re-financing," according to the statement.
Statera Energy, a developer of flexible electricity generation and storage capacity, who owns and operates the site, originally conceived the plant, it said.
The 4,500 square meter facility uses SMA's proprietary E-house design, which houses batteries and other equipment in custom-built prefabricated buildings, which, according to the statement, "reduces the site’s footprint by up to 50 percent when compared with designs using shipping containers."
The site comprises seven E-houses, 27 inverters, 12 km of cable and 150,000 lithium-ion battery cells and is connected to a nearby 400-kilovolt (kV) substation via a 132kV grid connection.
Tim Humpage, BSR's head of EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), said they were happy to have worked closely with SMA to deliver this "landmark project".
BSR EPC's project scope included both civil and electrical design, and subsequently construction and battery installation, according to the statement.
"Renewables are meeting more and more of our energy needs, and projects like this have the power to turbo-charge this trend as batteries have the ability to balance supply and demand," Humpage said.
Energy storage facilities will be an "essential" part of the transition to a low carbon environment in the coming years, he added.
Based in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, British Solar Renewables builds, owns and operates utility-scale renewable energy plants.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr