Highview Power’s Plan To Add Energy Storage To The UK Power Network
The plan was disclosed in this article on the Telegraph, which is entitled Britain Will Soon Have A Glut Of Cheap Power, And World-Leading Batteries To Store It, by Rupert Pearce, who is Highview’s chief executive.
His plan is to build twenty of Highview Power’s CRYOBatteries around the country.
- Each CRYOBattery will be able to store 30 GWh.
- Each CRYOBattery will be one of the largest batteries in the world.
- They will have three times the storage of the pumped storage hydroelectric power station at Dinorwig.
- They will be able to supply 2.5 GW for twelve hours, which is more output than Sizewell B nuclear power station.
The first 30 GWh CRYOBattery is planned to be operational by late 2024.
- It will be built on Humberside.
- Humberside is or will be closely connected to the Dogger Bank, Hornsea and Sofia wind farms.
- When fully developed, I believe these wind farms could be producing upwards of 8 GW.
The Telegraph quotes Rupert Pearce as saying this.
We can take power when the grid can’t handle it, and fill our tanks with wasted wind (curtailment). At the moment the grid has to pay companies £1bn a year not to produce, which is grotesque.
I certainly agree with what he says about it being a grotesque practice.
It sounds to me, that Rupert’s plan would see Highview Power in the waste electricity management business.
- The wasted wind would just be switched to the Humberside CRYOBattery, if there was too much power in the area.
- The CRYOBattery might be conveniently located, where the wind farm cables join the grid.
- Dogger Bank A and B wind farms are connected to Creyke Beck substation, which is North of the Humber.
- Hornsea 1 and Hornsea 2 wind farm are connected to Killingholme substation, which is South of the Humber.
- Hornsea 3 wind farm will be connected to Norfolk.
- Hornsea 4 wind farms will be connected to Creyke Beck substation
- It looks like the combined capacity of Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Hornsea 4 could be around 3.4 GW.
- Sofia wind farm will be connected to Lazenby substation near Redcar.
- As the CRYOBattery is buying, selling and storing electricity, I would assume that there’s money to be made.
This Google Map shows Creyke Beck substation.
Note.
- It is a large site.
- Creyke Beck Storage have built a 49.99 MW lithium-ion storage battery on the site.
- The Northern part of the site is used to store caravans.
- It looks like the combined capacity of Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Hornsea 4 could be around 3.4 GW.
It looks like a 30 GWh CRYOBattery with a maximum output of 2.5 GW would be an ideal companion for the three wind farms connected to Creyke Back substation.
The combination could probably supply upwards of 2.5 GW to the grid at all times to provide a strong baseload for Humberside.
Conclusion
Will the income from the Humberside CRYOBattery be used to fund the next CRYOBattery?
I very much think so as it’s very sensible financial management!
The Anonymous Widower 
On Highview website it refers to their next development as being a 200MW / 2.5GWh facility in Yorkshire? Where has the DT got 30GWh from I wonder.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 30, 2022 |
In the Telegraph article, it says, that the battery can provide 2.5 GW for 12 hours or 0.5 GW for 60 hours, That is 30 GWh in my book.
Comment by AnonW | July 30, 2022 |
Agree but isn’t what Highview say on their website. Thing is though the system is easily scalable to that size although they need is the space to construct it.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 30, 2022
yes, I have to say it’s hard to work out what is definitely planned and under construction, and what is just HIghview saying what is possible. The plant in Carrington was part funded by the government, but I can’t see that being the case for the much larger plant that the DT is talking about. Has the site been identified/bought/leased? Have the build contracts been signed? How’s it being financed? There are now established routes for solar/wind to be financially viable via CfD, but the government acknowledged in their market review that one of the problems with the existing arrangements is that there is no route to market for storage. Another acknowledged problem is that there are no local pricing arrangements, so the price is the same whether the plant is next to the converter station or at the other end of the country. Highview’s website says it’s working with the Grid, but on what exactly? It’s clear the current curtailment costs are ‘grotesque’, but solutions from the market review won’t be until mid-decade at the earliest. Given the potential size of the storage, one possibility with a plant next to the converter station would be a sort of private wire contract between the Grid and Highview, which would agree long-term prices in and out. But does the Grid have the authority/budget to make those kind of agreements? And the intermittent nature of wind means the storage would be intermittent too, which in turn makes it less attractive for investors.
Lots of questions, I think!
Comment by Peter Robins | August 1, 2022 |
I certainly think we can agree on the following points and probably a few others.
1. Owning energy storage makes money as Gore Street and Gresham House have shown.
2. National Grid seem to have access to finance for infrastructure, if the financial case stacks up. They have certainly financed some interconnectors.
3. National Grid have extensive computer models to find out how large batteries need to be. I was building models like that for water in the early 1970s.
4. National Grid own sites like Creyke Beck substation, which could be ideal places to site a Highview CRYOBattery.
5. CRYOBatteries would appear to be able to be built from off-the-shelf components.
6. Batteries can make money by buying electricity when it is cheap and selling it, when it is expensive. Software companies offer this process as either software or a service.
7. Do National Grid pay fees to companies like Gore Street and Gresham House to stabilise the grid?
This looks like a problem, that engineers generally solve in a Real Ale Pub.
Comment by AnonW | August 1, 2022
yes, but the existing batteries are on a very different scale than what’s planned here. BEIS had a consultation last year on LDES https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1003841/large-scale-long-duration-electricity-storage-cfe.pdf P13ff lists the problems with the existing arrangements and p15ff the current routes to market and possible ways forward.
Comment by Peter Robins | August 1, 2022
I suspect that they will use storage technology developed for liquid gas technology.
I’ve just searched Google for “LNG Storage” and selected images. There are some very useful cutaway diagrams.
Comment by AnonW | July 30, 2022 |
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