United Kingdom – Pivot Power, an EDF Renewables subsidiary, has begun construction on a grid-scale battery storage facility in Sandwell, northwest of Birmingham.
The site, which will be linked to the transmission network at National Grid’s Bustleholme substation, will help to create a greener energy grid and accelerate the UK’s drive to net zero energy.
The 50MW/100MWh lithium-ion battery has the capacity to power over 100,000 homes for two hours. It will aid in the integration of more renewable energy and increase the resiliency of the electricity system by charging and discharging automatically to balance supply and demand and manage intermittency.
Pivot Power’s Energy Superhub network, which is designed to deliver up to 2 GW of transmission-connected battery storage and high-volume power connections across the UK, includes the Sandwell site.
Sandwell will be one of the first communities in the country to benefit from this one-of-a-kind infrastructure investment, which will reduce carbon emissions in the region, improve air quality, and support long-term economic growth.
It will replicate core elements of Pivot Power’s Energy Superhub Oxford project, one of the most ambitious urban decarbonization projects undertaken in the UK to date, which combines a cutting-edge 50MW hybrid battery with Europe’s most powerful electric vehicle (EV) charging network, alongside a similar site in Coventry, which is set to begin construction in early 2022.
The site will also contribute to the West Midlands’ green transportation revolution by establishing the power infrastructure for large-scale, rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging. Pivot Power intends to install a private-wire network once the battery has been completed, creating the power infrastructure to deliver large amounts of power for rapid EV charging to strategic locations in the local area, ranging from public charging hubs to bus depots and commercial fleets.
The start of construction at the Sandwell site caps off an eventful year for Pivot Power, which has already seen the commissioning of two 50MW/50MWh lithium-ion battery storage systems in Cowley, Oxford, and Kemsley, Kent. Both systems are directly linked to the National Grid’s high-voltage transmission networks and are part of Pivot Power’s plans to deploy up to 40 similar sites across the UK.
EDF Group’s ambition to become Europe’s leading e-mobility energy company by 2023 is supported by Pivot Power’s portfolio, which is a key pillar of the company’s plan to develop an additional 10GW of battery storage globally by 2035.
Battery storage is critical for increasing the use of renewable energy and meeting the UK Government’s goal of decarbonizing the country’s electricity system by 2035. According to the National Grid’s Future Energy Scenario for 2021, up to 13GW of electricity storage will be needed in the UK by 2030 to support increased renewable generation installation.
