The vision of using energy storage technologies to maximise output from intermittent renewable energy sources and reduce the cost of decarbonisation took another step towards becoming reality this week, as AES UK & Ireland announced the UK's largest battery array is now online.
The energy storage technology firm confirmed its Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array in Northern Ireland was now commercially available for Harmonised Ancillary Services provision, offering 10MW of energy storage capacity to the grid.
The project is the first step in a plan to develop a 100MW storage array adjacent to Kilroot Power Station, which according to independent estimates could provide £8.5m of grid system savings and 123,000 tonnes of carbon emission reductions a year by displacing back-up fossil fuel plants and enabling fuller integration of existing renewables projects.
Advocates of energy storage systems argue they can reduce the cost of decarbonisation by matching clean energy supply and demand in a way that maximises output from renewable energy technologies.
"Since 1992, AES has helped to keep the lights on in Northern Ireland and we have a history of providing our customers with innovative solutions," said Carla Tully, AES UK & Ireland President, in a statement. "Our investment in the largest battery energy storage array on these islands represents an important advancement in providing safe, reliable, cost-effective and emission-free power."
The new 10MW array will now be officially opened next month and will be assessed by the government-backed Innovate UK Energy Catalyst as part of a project to analyse the effectiveness of grid-scale energy storage systems.
The company said the array, which features over 53,000 batteries, "provides a dependable, smart and cost-competitive means to support a reliable, low carbon electricity system for the Northern Ireland economy". It added that the facility is a fully commercial project that creates no additional costs for consumers.
The news comes in the same week as solar developer British Solar Renewables (BSR), electricity supplier Western Power Distribution (WPD), and renewable energy developer RES announced plans for a £1m Ofgem funded project to construct a 640kWh battery system at the BSR-owned 1.5MW solar park at Butleigh in Somerset.
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