Smart energy infrastructure group, SMS plc, has begun operating two new grid scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) that add a combined 90 MW of storage capacity to the UK’s electricity transmission network.
A 50 MW project located at Brook Farm, near Ipswich, and a 40 MW site in Stairfoot, Barnsley, UK, are now fully operational, delivering essential grid balancing and flexibility services at a time of year when the power network has come under increased strain due to cold weather, gas shortages, and heightened winter demand. The large lithium-ion batteries installed across both sites hold enough capacity to store electricity for approximately 40 000 UK homes.Thanks to the ability to store renewable power such as wind and solar when electricity demand is low and release it to the network when demand is high, battery…