Zenobē constructs Scotland’s first transmission-connected battery
Battery storage and EV fleet specialist Zenobē has reached financial close on its 50MW/100MWh battery project in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire. It will reportedly be Scotland’s first transmission-connected battery and plans to go live in late 2022.
The construction of the battery, which will be the largest in Scotland when commissioned, has started with plans to go live by the end of 2022.
The battery will be used as part of National Grid ESO’s Constraints Management pathfinder project, helping increase transmission capacity for the region. This makes it the first battery in the UK to act as a flexibility tool to manage constraints.
It will do so directly from the transmission network, helping to push down energy prices for consumers and accelerate the country’s uptake of renewable energy.
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Battery partnership
James Basden, co-founder and director of Zenobē, stated: “Alongside our partners, Fluence, Centrica, H&MV and Santander UK, we’re increasing flexibility of power supply for Glasgow and the wider network and so allowing a greater uptake of renewable energy.
“The battery at Wishaw is the first of a series of major battery flexibility projects by Zenobē and part of the c. £500 million ($624 million) we intend to invest in Scotland in the next five years.”
Zenobē is working with Centrica as the route to market provider, entering a long-term floor contract which will see Centrica optimise the battery and open access to a variety of revenue streams.
Fluence has been appointed as the battery energy storage system supplier and H&MV as the principal designer and contractor. The project is being financed by Santander UK.
Marek Kubik, managing director UK, Ireland & Israel, Fluence, stated: “We are pleased to be working with Zenobē to deliver the largest battery-based energy storage system to date in Scotland and the first to be connected directly to the transmission system in the country.
“The project in Wishaw will use the highly configurable Gridstack product with intelligent edge controls that is designed for the most demanding market applications and grid services.”
The announcement comes in as Scotland attempts to become net zero by 2045.
Kubik went on to relate the project to the country’s carbon neutral goal, “With the 50MW system being deployed in less than one year, Scotland will be able to benefit from the addition of low-cost, zero-emissions capacity in the near term while it builds towards its 2045 net-zero target.”
Over the next 15 years, the site will enable 640GWh more renewable generation to travel from north to south and is forecast to remove 450,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.
