A subsidiary of Statera Energy has applied for planning permission to build a flexible generation plant near Tilbury in Essex, combining 600MW of gas reciprocating engines with 150MW of battery storage.
The batteries will be capable of storing up to 600MWh of electricity. If built today, they would comprise the largest battery storage system in the world.
As its generation capacity is at least 50MW and the plant is therefore considered a nationally significant infrastructure project, developer Thurrock Power has applied to the Planning Inspectorate for a development consent order.
If accepted for examination, the Planning Inspectorate will make recommendations to the secretary of state for energy, Alok Sharma, who will then have the final say on whether or not to grant planning permission. Most batteries built in the UK to date have had a capacity of less than 50MW to stay below this threshold.
Drax was planning to build 200MW of battery storage as part of a wider project to replace two of its coal units with combined-cycle gas turbines but told Utility Week in February that is now looking at alternatives following a legal challenge to the turbines.
Wirsol Energy and Hive Energy are reportedly considering installing up to 700MWh of battery storage as part of plans to build the UK’s largest solar near Faversham in Kent. The Clive Hill project, which would have a capacity of 350MW, was granted a development consent order last month.
The title for world’s largest battery system is held by the 100MW/129MWh facility famously installed by Tesla alongside the Hornsdale windfarm in Australia. It is currently undergoing an expansion to increase its size to 100MW/193.5MWh.