Centrica Business Solutions has established a dedicated team to develop, build, manage and optimise a portfolio of solar farms and battery storage systems that will be used to supply its customers with clean energy.
The company said Centrica Energy Assets will aim to build 650MW of solar farms and 250MW of battery storage by 2026.
The batteries will be controlled using its Power Radar energy management platform which it acquired as part of its purchase of Belgian company REstore in 2017. The platform is able to aggregate numerous smaller assets and loads to form a so-called virtual power plant.
Greg McKenna, managing director of Centrica Business Solutions, said: “In recent weeks, we’ve seen a commitment from government to a green grid by 2035, but to achieve this it’s vital we build out the level of storage to help manage supply and demand. This new team will invest in the technology that will help us reach that 2035 target and provide the back-up that ensures we can make best use of the renewable energy generated.”
Bill Rees, director of Centrica Energy Assets, said: “Fighting climate change is going to take multiple partnerships, with landowners, technology companies, and a diverse, dynamic workforce with the energy and passion to deliver a net zero future for the UK. We are creating forward-looking and sustainable jobs, simultaneously supporting the government’s economic and climate ambitions.”
Centrica has built more than 85MW of solar generation and battery storage to date, including most recently the British Army’s first solar farm at the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield in East Yorkshire.