Ecotricity will today announce plans to install a 2.5MW battery project at its Stroud HQ, making the green energy specialist the latest high profile company to move into the fast-expanding energy storage market.
The company confirmed it has secured planning approval for a change of use at its Wallbridge building in Stroud and is now working on plans to install a battery storage system at the site capable of matching the output of a large wind turbine.
“We’ve been looking at energy storage for some time now – waiting for the technology to make it possible,” said Ecotricity founder and chief executive, Dale Vince, in a statement. “And we’re excited that we’re now at that point.”
He added that the project should benefit Ecotricity customers and could potentially act as a forerunner for further investments in energy storage technologies.
“Not many people know that, as an energy company, we have to manage the energy our customers use every half an hour – energy storage will better allow us to do that, meaning we can more efficiently supply energy and better manage the green energy we generate,” he explained. “This is a trial project for us – and we’re going to learn a lot about energy storage and how it can help us. And we’re hoping it will be the first of many more energy storage projects to come.”
A spokesman for the company confirmed the project was at a relatively early stage and Ecotricity was currently working to select a battery provider.
He added that the company will be looking at a “number of mechanisms” for generating revenue from the project. The nascent energy storage market allows operators to sell a range of services, including demand response, load balancing for grid operators, and back up capacity through the government’s capacity market.
Ecotricity said the project should also help curb carbon emissions by displacing the diesel generators and gas power stations that are typically used to meet short peaks in demand for power.
The plans are the latest in a series of votes of confidence for the UK’s fledgling energy storage market. For example, last week Italian energy giant Enel announced it had acquired a construction-ready 25MW project in Newcastle that is now plans to invest €20m in delivering, while demand management software specialist Limejump announced it had secured the contract to manage the 6MW Network Storage Facility in Leighton Buzzard.
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