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Wartsila, a technology company, will work with SSE, a low-carbon energy company, to build a 50 MW/100 MWh energy storage facility in Salisbury (Wiltshire). SSE’s new battery and solar division will connect the battery directly to the transmission network. This will allow for reliable, clean energy and balance the intermittent nature of renewables. Wartsila received the order in April 2022. The system is expected to be operational in September 2023.
This partnership is a significant step on the UK’s journey to net zero. It is not only the first grid-scale battery installation by SSE. However, it will allow the UK to increase energy storage in order to reach its ambitious renewable energy goals.
The UK’s energy storage system will provide reliable services, such as wholesale market trading to support its national grid. This is crucial in order to balance renewable energy generation throughout the day. The UK has seen its energy storage capacity double in the last year. This shows the importance of energy flexibility, as the UK increases its renewable energy generation. Wartsila supports SSE in its ambitions for energy storage systems and thus enables more British energy consumers access to secure renewable energy. This will reduce costs and lower carbon emissions.
Kenneth Engblom is Vice President for Europe and Africa at Wartsila Energy. He stated that the UK could capitalize on its enormous potential for renewable energy. However, energy storage should not be ignored – effectively balancing intermittency in renewables is the missing piece of the net-zero puzzle. Energy storage, if properly used, will allow the grid to manage fluctuations in renewable energy supply. It will also ensure that end users have a power supply when we move to cleaner, cheaper energy. This is a significant moment in our history as we help one of the UK’s biggest energy companies scale up renewable energy, providing more British consumers reliable, low-cost and clean energy.
Richard Cave-Bigley is Director of Solar and Battery at SSE. He said that today is a significant milestone for SSE, as we have built our first battery storage facility at Salisbury. However, it is just the beginning of a multi GW pipeline of battery and solar projects.
“Battery storage plays a crucial role in helping the UK decarbonize. It ensures that we take advantage of the growing amounts of renewable energy entering the Grid. SSE will invest PS24bn in low-carbon infrastructure over the next decade (around PS7m per day). We are thrilled to work with Wartsila to provide the flexibility and balancing services needed to get the UK to net-zero.”
Wartsila currently has similar-sized energy storage systems throughout the UK. This is a demonstration of their commitment to renewable energy and helping the UK achieve its net-zero goals. According to Wartsila’s modeling, the UK will need 18 GW of energy storage capacity to manage this transition.
This will include Wartsila’s GridSolv Quantum, an integrated, modular, and compact energy storage system. The project will also include Wartsila’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform which is Wartsila’s advanced energy management software.
