RES Completes Its First UK Energy Storage Project
RES (Renewable Energy Systems) has successfully completed its first UK-based industrial-scale battery storage facility at a 1.5 MW solar park south of Glastonbury, in Somerset. RES has delivered the battery energy storage system (BESS) under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Western Power Distribution (WPD) as part of a project to explore the provision of ancillary services to a distribution network operator from an embedded battery energy storage system.
A global renewable energy company, RES has pioneered energy storage projects in the US and Canada and is now delivering its energy storage expertise at projects across the UK. The 310kVA/668kWh battery storage system RES has delivered for WPD, at a British Solar Renewables (BSR) solar park, is one of the first such projects to be built under a fully wrapped EPC contract in Europe. The combined solar-storage project is connected to WPD's South West 11kV network, and the BESS will be operated using RESolve, RES' storage control and dispatch system that will provide 24/7 management of the battery's operation.
The completion of RES' first energy storage project in UK solidifies RES' leadership in the global energy storage sector, as reported in Navigant Research's Leaderboard Report and takes RES' total contracted energy storage portfolio to 143.6 MW / 92 MWh, alongside more than 200 MW in development.
Tim French, RES' Head of Projects for New Technologies, said: "Completing our first battery storage facility in UK marks an important milestone for RES. We've been able to use our global energy storage expertise to great effect in successfully designing and building this project for WPD and delivering it ahead of schedule.
"We recognise the significant potential energy storage brings through increasing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of grid operations without the need for public or Government subsidy. RES is very well placed at the forefront of the rapidly expanding UK storage market, which will play a vital role in the UK's transition to a low carbon future at least cost to consumers."
Jenny Woodruff, Innovation and Low Carbon Engineer for WPD, said: "I'm delighted to see the battery energised and we've already seen encouraging signs of the battery's capabilities during commissioning tests. The Solar Storage project will discover the effectiveness and the practical issues around using the battery to provide a range of services. This will help us determine where battery technology can reduce network investment costs, keeping bills down for customers."
