O-I Glass and GridBeyond plan to implement a groundbreaking battery storage solution at O-I’s Alloa, UK facility. The innovative 8MW battery system and supporting energy management system (EMS) leverages artificial intelligence to significantly enhance energy efficiency, resilience and sustainability.

“Our energy strategy is grounded in resilience, innovation, and transformation, to embrace cutting-edge solutions that are scalable and sustainable,” said Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer for O-I.

By strategically charging and discharging the battery based on grid conditions, GridBeyond’s AI-powered system helps to stabilise the local electricity grid during peak periods, increases O-I’s resilience against brownouts, and improves the grid’s efficiency and sustainability. It allows charging during times of high renewable energy availability and discharging energy to the site at peak hours of demand. With this approach, O-I is projected to conserve up to 240 tons of CO₂ emissions annually at the Alloa facility once the project is operational.

The sophisticated battery management algorithm also helps to maintain a smaller overall footprint of the grid as it smooths out the load during peak hours.

In addition, the battery system will increase power resiliency at the Alloa plant by balancing voltage dips on site and helping to prevent production equipment from tripping out.

“We are supporting O-I’s global sustainability strategy by leveraging localized product and process innovations to transform our operations,” said Jim Rankine, O-I’s UK Managing Director. “From our use of second-generation biofuels, derived entirely from renewable waste materials to leveraging AI to maximise energy efficiency, we are taking a holistic approach to achieving balance across our stakeholder ecosystem.”

“Through its AI platform, GridBeyond is a key player in supporting businesses’ energy transition and helping to deliver net zero. We are extremely proud of working with O-I and use our expertise to support the company to deliver a sustainable future,” commented Michael Phelan, CEO at GridBeyond.

As part of O-I’s vision to be the most sustainable, and chosen, supplier of brand-building packaging, the company aims to reduce GHG emissions by 25% by 2030. To learn more about O-I’s sustainable packaging for wine and its global vision for sustainability, visit the company’s website.

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GridBeyond will be delivering BESS solutions to Keppel DC Dublin 1 and 2, which are located at City West and Ballycoolin, Ireland respectively. The two data centres are owned by Keppel DC REIT, a Singapore listed pure-play data centre REIT.

The BESS at the two data centres will provide additional flexible capacity to the power system. By adding this flexible capacity, the BESS will help integrate more renewable energy sources into the energy mix and support the grid in times of stress for the benefit of all consumers. This will also add 8MW of flexible capacity to the grid ahead of the winter peak demand period.

The project includes the installation and management of a 2 x 2MW/2.2MWh battery at the Citywest site and a 4MW/6.1MWh battery at the Ballycoolin site. GridBeyond will manage the flexibility of the sites by connecting the batteries to its AI-powered energy technology platform, GridBeyond Point. Power from the batteries will be discharged in response to instructions from the grid operator to provide green power during times of grid stress. Historically, during times of grid stress, generation facilities, often carbon-intensive, are brought online to balance the grid. By capturing excess renewable energy from renewable sources that would otherwise be wasted the BESS will be able to provide lower carbon flexibility to the system when required.

It is also estimated that the installation of the two batteries at the two data centres will deliver a reduction of 240,000kg of CO₂ per year, further advancing the two companies’ net zero agenda.

GridBeyond Regional Director for Ireland Denver Blemings said, “This project shows how data centres can play a bigger role in the energy transition. It’s great to see companies, like Keppel DC REIT, use demand response programmes to support the grid and use renewable energies in the delivery of their activities”.

Gary Watson, Country Manager (Ireland) of Keppel DC REIT, said, “Leveraging this partnership with GridBeyond, Keppel DC REIT’s is able to take another step towards our 2030 net zero targets. We will also explore other ways to increase the use of renewable energy, such as installing on-site solar, to bolster our efforts to decarbonise our operations.”

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While tolling arrangements and floor prices act to provide a predictable income, the merchant model, where revenues are tied to market prices, introduces an element of risk but also the potential for higher returns. As stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of the risk-return dynamics within the battery storage sector, a more balanced and informed investment landscape emerges.

This trend signifies a maturing market where investors are progressively embracing the potential of battery storage assets while strategically managing associated risks, says GridBeyond’s latest white paper ‘Tolls, floors and merchant models: Do higher risks mean higher returns for battery storage investors?’ by Scott Berrie, Asset Development Director at GridBeyond.

The paper also looks at the battery storage models, associated risks and potential profitability. There are numerous financing options available for battery storage assets including tolling model, merchant model and trading opportunities like Frequency Response Services, Capacity Market and Balancing Mechanism (BM), and wholesale market trading. High energy prices, capacity market auctions, new frequency response products, local flexibility tenders and pathfinder projects have further increased investor appetite for energy storage technologies. Investors are also getting more comfortable with the associated merchant risk and understand that in the absence of long-term or government-backed contracts, the market has created mechanisms that allow a route to market for battery systems says Scott Berrie.

Scott Berrie, Asset Development Director at GridBeyond commented, “Storage assets are a great opportunities for businesses which can increase their revenues according to their strategy and objectives while moving towards net zero goals, AI together with a suite of trading services, allow businesses to generate revenues allowing full access-to-market and to the most lucrative balancing services”.

Download the white paper here.

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Cheltenham-based Innova’s plan for a 400MW/800MWh-rated battery in Cumbria is the first large-scale transmission among its pipeline of 60 connected energy storage projects to receive full planning permission.

Promised for the venture is £20,000 in payments every year to community programmes and projects in the storage unit’s vicinity, plus a further £8,000 every year for local charities.  Biodiversity gains ranging from over 120% for wildlife habitats close to the device and 42% for river environments are among Innova’s pledges.

Ryan Adams, managing director of Innova’s renewables developments division, hailed last week’s decision  as a “landmark moment“.

“Blackdyke is the largest project we’ve delivered to date and also one of the largest batteries ever to be developed globally.

“It’s the first in a total of 26 transmission connections Innova are developing”, Adams went on. “Subject to planning, these bring a further 23GW of energy projects to the UK in the next decade”.

Planning consultants Lichfields advised Innova.

The green power developers’ integrated approach lends, they say, a capability across the life cycle of any project. This embraces planning, grid connections, project rights development, financing, construction and asset management, power purchase agreements, and long-term operations.

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• The 50MW / 100 MWh lithium-ion battery storage facility near Sellindge, Kent, the latest project to receive planning approval, is expected to begin construction in early 2024, aiming to be operational by early 2025.
• The 114 MW / 228 MWh lithium-ion battery storage facility in Swainsthorpe, Norwich, was consented at the end of August 2023 and is expected to begin construction in early / late 2024. As well as supporting Norwich City Council’s nether ambitions, EDF Renewables UK will also improve biodiversity in the area by planting trees, new hedgerows and enhancing the existing pond on site.
• The 57 MW / 114 MWh lithium-ion battery storage facility in Braintree, Essex, is expected to begin construction in early 2024, with the aim of being connected to National Grid’s Braintree substation in October the same year. Once constructed, EDF Renewables UK will install a private wire for electric vehicle (EV) charging to futureproof the system for rapid charging hubs in the region.

National Grid forecasts suggest that the UK could need up to 35GW of electricity storage by 2050 to provide the flexibility needed to manage electricity supply and demand as the UK pivots to renewables. With the UK government setting ambitious targets to decarbonise the power system by 2035, demand for electricity expecting to increase by 50%, and electric vehicles needing to see a 21-fold increase on EVs on the road to meet net zero emissions by 2050, battery storage will become a key component in managing the country’s electricity system.

As of Q2 2023, total battery energy storage capacity in Great Britain reached up to 2.9GW, and this is forecasted to reach 4GW by the end of the year. Currently, EDF Renewables UK has two 50MW battery storage facilities operational in Kemsley and Oxford, with two more sites now under construction in the West Midlands. In total, EDF Renewables UK plans to deliver up to 2GW of transmission-connected battery storage and high-volume power connections through its nationwide rollout of Energy Superhubs. These Energy Superhubs will combine transmission-connected batteries and power infrastructure for EV charging, enabling more renewables and accelerating the decarbonisation of transport in the UK.

The Braintree and Norwich battery storage sites are also confirmed to be co-located with nearby solar projects, whilst a decision for co-location in Sellindge is expected later this year. If consented, all three projects will leverage the coupling of renewable sources with battery storage systems to help stabilise the UK energy grid and maximise the efficiency of the company’s renewable generation projects.

Matthew Boulton, Director of Solar, Storage and Private Wire at EDF Renewables UK said, “The approval of our Sellindge, Norwich and Braintree battery storage facilities is an active proofpoint for the growing momentum behind crucial flexibility technologies to manage the intermittency of renewables across the UK.”

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Harmony Energy’s 98MW/196MWh Pillswood facility, near Cottingham, utilises 78 Tesla Megapacks connected to the grid using power and distribution transformers. These transformers ensure the voltage of the imported and exported energy matches the voltage level of the grid connection.

Wilson Power Solutions supplied the site with Forty Tier 2 compliant 2.8MVA 33kV/480V Wilson T2 Ecotrans Distribution Transformers®. And to blend in with the white Tesla Megapacks, Wilson Power Solutions supplied its transformers in the trademark Tesla colour.

Located in East Yorkshire, Pillswood has a strategic significance in supporting the utilisation of non-dispatchable renewable energy projects. The site is adjacent to National Grid’s Creyke Beck substation, the same connection point proposed for phases “A” and “B” of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, which is set to go live on the first phase in Summer 2023.

The National Grid Energy System Operator has asked wind farms to switch off in the past in the occurrence of consumption/generation imbalance occasions. Battery Energy Storage Systems like Pillswood prove necessary to allow the NG to maximise the utilisation of the energy generated by wind farms.

Tesla managed the construction of Pillswood which is also operated by Tesla Autobidder, a real-time trading and control platform providing asset management and portfolio optimisation based on value. This allows Pillswood to provide balancing services to the GB electricity grid while maximising revenues.

Funded by Harmony Energy Income Trust and delivered by Harmony Energy Limited, the two-hour duration BESS site has the capacity to store up to 196 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity in a single cycle. This is enough to power around 300,000 UK homes for two hours.

Further information about Wilson Power Solutions can be found on their website, https://www.wilsonpowersolutions.co.uk/

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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% 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.

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Our 2023 Flexibility survey forms the research component of our annual DSR and storage reports and aims to provide an accurate picture of the challenges and opportunities from an end user perspective.

We have almost 100 responses to date – but we could use more from ‘end users’; businesses and public sector organisations that provide demand-side response or those that are planning or have implemented behind the meter battery storage.

The broader the sample, the more accurate a picture we can build. Take the survey here.

We want to know:

• Whether you provide DSR
• How you provide it
• Whether you could provide more and what is stopping you
• How policymakers/regulators or market makers could improve the market from an end user perspective

We are also keen to understand:

• If you do not provide DSR, what is stopping you
• How aggregators or suppliers could make it easier for you to do so

In terms of battery storage, we want to understand whether it looks viable, how firms are deploying/considering deploying storage, payback periods and business models/revenue stacks.

Please take the 5-7 minute survey here.

All survey participants will receive a free copy of the report, containing qualitative interviews with end users that provide flexibility, and those that do not; insight from consultants on the direction of travel; interviews with DNOs that are starting to buy flexibility; interviews with energy suppliers and aggregators; plus full survey findings.

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The energy sector is currently going through many changes due to several factors. The last Capacity Market auctions cleared at record highs, while the introduction of new frequency response services has resulted in a significant commercial appetite for energy storage. However, to make strategic decisions to ensure maximum return on investment for these assets and a successful transition to net zero is quite complex, according to GridBeyond’s latest publication Managing the potential of batteries in the energy transition.

In recent years, the share of variable renewables source is increasing compared to fuel generation. As we face out fossil fuels to achieve the 2050 net zero target, the role of energy storage will become increasingly important to grid resilience and flexibility.

Electricity storage capacities will need to increase significantly to support the decarbonisation of our electricity system, which according to Bloomberg will require an investment of $262bn in battery technology.

However, there is a risk because if the market becomes oversupplied with batteries, investors could lose interest, but optimisation and stacking value could keep the investment attractive. Storage assets could stack values across different markets with optimisers and use AI and trading capabilities to extract long-term value.

Mark Davis, MD at GridBeyond commented, “We are experiencing very difficult times in the energy sector due to various factors. As we move away from fossil fuels, renewables and storage assets are becoming increasingly relevant.

AI-powered technology becomes crucial to manage storage assets according to company’s strategies and business objective. AI together with a suite of trading services, allow businesses to generate revenues allowing full access-to-market and to the most lucrative balancing services”.

Key findings:

• Energy storage has grown by 45% and will need to increase significantly to support the decarbonisation of the electricity system by 2050
• There is a risk for the energy storage market to become oversupplied, causing lots of interest from investors
• Battery optimisation and stacking value are crucial to keep the investment attractive

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Analysis from LCP indicates that with 4GW of battery capacity, up to 50% of the BM demand could be met in the future by batteries. Meanwhile, if battery capacity was increased to 10GW, up to 70% of BM demand could be met. In 2021, gas acted as the dominant provider of energy to the BM, representing 78% of volume over the year.

A future BM market that is less reliant on volatile gas prices and supported by battery capacity instead, to meet short term demands, could result in cheaper energy bills for consumers.

Chris Matson from LCP commented, “In the 2025/26 T-4 auction we saw 3.3GW of new battery storage assets secure contracts, compared to less than 2GW currently on the system. With previous auction results considered, this could mean that by 2025/26 we have a total of 6GW of battery storage online, much of which will be targeting the Balancing Market, where we have seen lucrative returns in recent months. However, investors will need to closely consider how increasing competition and the impact of cannibalisation could affect returns as they assess their future revenues.”

For investors looking to the Capacity Market, in the past this has offered limited opportunities for battery assets due to the limited duration of the systems, often at just one hour, resulting in batteries being heavily derated in the CM. However, with more investment being made in longer duration batteries, the CM market is now set to come into play for asset owners, providing a reliable revenue stream for battery storage with access to 15-year contracts.

Of the 3.3GW of battery storage capacity that secured contracts for the recent T-4 auction (2025-26), 1.7GW of this was battery storage with durations of 2 hours or more, signalling increased investment and a shift to the larger systems.

When considering their battery investment strategies, LCP has highlighted some key factors for investors to consider:

• Investors will need to be wary in the BM as more battery capacity is added to the market, as the amount of volume that each unit can be expected to deliver will reduce.
• Investors should consider co-location of batteries alongside other renewable energies such as solar, as a way of spreading their costs over a wider revenue base and maximising the use of limited connection capacity.
• The frequency response market remains attractive but investors must consider hybrid approaches that optimise between that and energy markets in order to maximise returns.
• Investors must consider volatility as a core component to their revenue stack and to be bankable, rather than it being treated as a “cherry on top”.
• While tempting, investors should be cautious when analysing leaderboards and should increasingly be taken with a pinch of salt as strategies become more complex and sources of revenue through different trading approaches are not visible

Matson added, “To date, batteries have primarily focused on supporting the energy system through the frequency response markets but in the coming years we are likely to see a change as these markets become oversubscribed. We have begun to see new strategies adopted to maximise returns not only from frequency but also from wholesale and balancing markets which offer a great opportunity for investors to stack their revenues.

“The frequency response market will still be an important revenue source for shorter duration systems, but asset owners will increasingly be looking towards the lucrative opportunities in wholesale and balancing due to the current market conditions.

“For investors, as well as considering the right strategy that works across both one and two-hour durations, they will also need to consider where they are building the assets. Co-location alongside generation such as solar PV could offer long-term savings as investors make the best use of connection capacity and spread the cost over a larger revenue base.”

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Tesla Megapack’s lithium ion technology is the core of co-developers Harmony Energy’s and Fotowatio’s (FRV) chunky 99MW/ 198MWh amp hotel.  Work has begun on a site at Clay Tye, in Upminster’s verdant hinterlands.

The pair have co-operated before to deliver a similar Tesla-based grid goliath, at Holes Bay near Poole.  A third collaboration also already sparked up is the duo’s 34 MW/ 68 MWh Contego storage unit near Burgess Hill.

Cables into UK Power Network’s regional grid from both the Dorset and West Sussex sites permit monetising the boxes already operating via flex trading and stabilisation services.

Harmony now has a portfolio of 1.2GWh in battery projects shovel ready stage around Britain.  Peter Kavanagh’s firm recently sold development rights for 50MW of storage to SSE.

Financing the Upminster project is expected to close within weeks, and be fully constructed over the next 18 months.

Saudi Arabian family-based conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel owns FRV-X, the technology platform of FRV. It boasts a pipeline of around 1GWh of storage projects at various stages of development worldwide, including 83MWh already commissioned.

“The start-up of the Contego plant and the progress in construction at Clay Tye hold enormous significance for FRV” said David Menéndez, head of FRV-X.  “They brings us closer to our goal of expanding our portfolio of energy storage projects internationally”.

Britain’s current biggest grid-goliath battery in operation is Penso and Limejump‘s 100 MW project near Minety, Wiltshire, being readied for expansion to 150 MW.

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Richard Cave-Bigley, the supplier’s director for distributed generation and storage, said storage would occupy a more prominent role in future UK energy, as more intermittent renewables take the place on grids of baseload fossil fuels.

“Our distributed energy division has ambitions to build a significant portfolio of batteries,” he said.

“We’re looking at around 500MW of early-stage opportunities.We hope (this) announcement signals the seriousness of our intent in this market.”

SSE claims to control the largest renewables portfolio in the UK and Ireland. It intends its ‘whole system approach’ to play a significant role in emerging flexible markets, accelerating Britain’s path to net zero and create a more resilient energy system”.

Getting the Wiltshire project to a construction-ready stage had been four years in the making, according to Harmony EnergyCEO Peter Kavanagh.

“It’s great for SSE to have shown their confidence and enable our divestment,” he said.

“We share their vision and passion to help accelerate the deployment of energy storage which is fundamental to the UK’s energy mix and enabling the reduction of carbon emissions.”

The county of Wiltshire, within the DNO domain of Western Power Distribution, has attracted significant recent investment in grid-scale storage.

Minety, forty miles from SSE’s purchase in Salisbury, is the location for two more 50 MW power packs.  Developed by Penso Power for owners including China Huaneng Group, and with its power traded by Shell’s Limejump, the facility is mooted for extension as far as 150 MW.  

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Vattenfall’s 22MW was the first in the UK to be co located at a wind farm site, allowing it to benefit from  the existing wind farm grid export connection. The battery, which is made up of  500 BMW i3 battery packs housed in shipping containers, was one of the eight projects selected by National Grid to provide EFR (Enhanced Frequency Response) until February 2022.

From February 2022 onwards, Arenko will use end-to-end trade optimisation and automated dispatch software to maximise returns. The cloud-based optimisation software forecasts market conditions, performing millions of simulations per day to optimise trading decisions, it then securely dispatches stored energy from the assets. Optimising trading increases ROI and streamlines processes for flexible assets when decisions have to be made with ever-increasing speed.

This contract builds upon recent contract wins as Arenko’s technology aids its customers by enabling the flexibility required to support the global transition to a zero-carbon future. Arenko was pleased to work closely with Jake Dunn, Commercial Manager at Vattenfall who pioneered the development of renewables co location in the UK, to finalise this agreement.

Jake Dunn, commercial manager at Vattenfall, said, “Our goal is to enable fossil fuel free living within one generation. We are determined to help this energy transition not just through renewable generation but also supporting grid stability through co-located battery storage projects. As the EFR contract comes to an end and the battery moves to a more diverse range of ancillary services, we are grateful to be assisted in this by the market leading expertise of Arenko.”

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The hydrocarbon giant’s clean tech offshoot has announced that the plant’s installation in Minety, near Swindon by developers Penso Power is now complete and ready to trade back up services, including National Grid ESO’s Dynamic Containment.

Limejump, bought in 2019 through Shell’s Netherlands-based New Energies arm, will manage trades enabled by the co-located ternary lithium-centred units.   Shell bought off-take rights to the Wiltshire site early last year, just as Penso were pondering doubling up their initial 50MW concept.

Generator China Huaneng Group and infrastructure investors CNIC have put an undisclosed sum into the rural English development.

“Delivering the Minety project during COVID-19 has been an amazing team effort, and with our colleagues at Shell, we can now focus on optimising Minety’s performance and supporting National Grid ESO,” said Catherine Newman, CEO of Limejump.

The ESO’s Dynamic Containment service is intended for fast kick-in after outages.  It is deployed to correct significant deviations in grid frequency,  answering the system’s most urgent needs for frequency response.

The service is intended to accommodate conditions where the grid is experiencing lower inertia and larger, more numerous losses than ever before.  Faster acting frequency response products are needed because system frequency is moving away from 50Hz more rapidly as a consequence of imbalances.

David Wells, VP Shell Energy Europe, commented,  “Flexible storage and supply systems such as Minety have an essential role in balancing supply and demand, especially as renewable power sources become increasingly central to the UK’s energy needs”.

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