Equinor, a leading energy company, has achieved a significant milestone with the completion of its fully-owned 25 MW/50 MWh Blandford Road battery storage asset in Dorset, United Kingdom. The project, developed and operated by British battery storage company Noriker Power, features Equinor holding a 45% equity share.
Situated in Dorset and connected to the Southern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) network, the Blandford Road battery storage asset comprises approximately 150 lithium-ion battery units. With the capacity to store enough electricity to power 75,000 UK homes for two hours, the facility is a crucial addition to Equinor’s commitment to delivering flexible power and maintaining the security of the UK’s energy supply.
Alex Grant, UK Country Manager at Equinor, emphasized the importance of the battery storage portfolio in strengthening Equinor’s position as a leading energy partner in the UK. Grant highlighted Equinor’s four-decade presence in the country, ranging from being a stable supplier of oil and gas to developing the offshore wind industry.
The British Energy Security Strategy aims for 95% of the UK’s electricity to be low carbon by 2030, and battery storage systems like Blandford Road play a vital role in this transition. These systems store excess power generated from renewable sources and release it when the electricity grid needs it the most, enhancing security of supply and mitigating power price extremes.
Equinor envisions a renewables portfolio that combines generation assets like wind and solar with flexible assets such as batteries to address the intermittency of renewable power generation. In addition to Blandford Road, Equinor is progressing with its Welkin Mill battery storage project in the Greater Manchester area, with a capacity of 35 MW/70 MWh and an expected operational date in 2024.
Equinor’s energy trading house, Danske Commodities, will play a pivotal role in providing market access, balancing, and optimization services for the Blandford Road asset, leveraging its 15 years of experience in the UK power markets.
Olav Kolbeinstveit, Senior Vice President for Onshore and Markets within Renewables at Equinor, highlighted their distinct business model, integrating Equinor’s industrial perspective, Noriker’s local capabilities, and Danske Commodities’ power trading expertise. This model enables a rapid scaling of Equinor’s battery storage portfolio in the UK and enhances value creation in power markets.
