A division of oil giant Shell has partnered with UK renewable energy company Anesco on a battery storage project at the Bacton gas terminal site near Norfolk.
The lithium ion battery is expected to have a capacity of 1.25MW/1.25MWh. Shell New Energies has confirmed the project which Utility Week understands is anticipated to launch this summer.
Anesco will provide the design, procurement, installation, commissioning and maintenance of the utility-scale system.
Steve Shine, executive chairman of Anesco, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Shell New Energies on this exciting new project in the storage sector. It marks another significant milestone for us at Anesco.”
He added: “We have fully complied with Shell’s high standards of quality and safety and that is a massive compliment to the Anesco team.”
The Bacton gas terminal is a complex of six gas terminals within four sites located on the North Sea coast in north Norfolk near Paston and between Bacton and Mundesley.
Anesco manages the funding, development, operation and maintenance of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
The company says its portfolio is “on track” to exceed 380MW by the end of 2020. It has constructed more than 100 solar farms, while its operations and maintenance service manages 21,800 assets.
A former National Grid technical strategist joined Anesco in December last year as the company plans to “capitalise on the global appetite for battery storage”.
Mike Ryan was appointed as director of asset management at the Reading-based company and will work closely with the senior team on an “aggressive growth strategy”.
He said: “It’s clear from all the Future Energy Scenarios that there’s going to be an increase in renewable generation. To enable that to happen, there needs to be a corresponding increase in the deployment of energy storage. It’s a common element across all scenarios – the use of storage. So, the question now is how to make that happen.”
Ryan described Anesco as being at the “forefront of the energy storage sector”.
Anesco was the first company in the UK to achieve subsidy-free solar. Energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry officially opened the 10MW Clayhill solar farm near Flitwick in Bedfordshire in September 2017.
Anesco hailed the site, which is co-located with a 6MW battery system as a “landmark development” for the solar industry.
The solar farm was installed over a three-month period after Anesco was granted planning permission for the project by Central Bedfordshire Council in 2015.
Earlier this week the electricity system operator at National Grid published draft de-rating factors for renewables should they be allowed to participate in the capacity market over the coming years.
The wider capacity market consultation also included expectations for the UK’s battery storage capacity.
The capacity market is currently suspended after an EU court overturned a 2014 decision by the European Commission to approve the mechanism under state aid rules. The government is planning to hold a T-1 auction over the summer and a T-3 auction in 2020 to replace those previously scheduled for early 2019.