The Tesla-powered energy storage system could help the UK get through a tough winter
What just happened? Operators have turned on Europe’s largest battery-powered energy storage system, putting into operation a system capable of storing enough electricity to power 300,000 homes within two hours.
The facility, located in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK, was under the control of Harmony Energy Limited, a renewable energy company, and uses Tesla Megapack technology. The system can store up to 196 MWh (megawatt-hours) of electricity in one cycle and will balance the power system, as well as allow replacing fossil fuel sources with renewable energy sources such as solar farms and wind turbines.
A battery-powered energy storage system has been built next to the Creyke Beck substation, where the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm is scheduled to launch next summer.
Each Tesla Megapack can store more than 3 MWh of energy, which is enough to power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour. Harmony did not say how many Megapack blocks were involved in the assembly, but based on simple math and photos of the structure attached to the press release, there are at least several dozen blocks at the facility.
Harmony stated that the project was originally planned to be launched in two stages — one in December 2022 and the second in March 2023 — but they decided to move everything online now ahead of a difficult winter period.
Last month, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) said that the UK could face a gas shortage this winter due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Gas is responsible for producing 40 to 60 percent of the UK’s electricity, and its shortage could have a serious impact on electricity production.
The facility will operate using Autobidder, a real-time trading and monitoring platform from Tesla that allows utilities to monetize battery assets. Autobidder already oversees several other battery storage projects, including the Hornsdale Power Reserve (HPR) in South Australia.
Harmony said that this is the first of six similar projects that the company intends to implement in the coming years.
