The Anonymous Widower

SSE Renewables Announces Construction Of Second Utility-Scale Battery Storage System

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from SSE Renewables.

These three paragraphs outline the project and its current status.

SSE Renewables has taken a Final Investment Decision to proceed with, and entered into contracts to deliver, its second battery energy storage system (BESS). The 150MW project is located at the site of SSE’s former Ferrybridge coal-fired power station in West Yorkshire, England.

The investment is part of SSE’s £12.5bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme and means construction will now commence later this month at the iconic site.

For decades the Ferrybridge coal-fired power station was a prominent feature of the West Yorkshire landscape, before being decommissioned by SSE in 2016. Now SSE Renewables’ plans to build a new 150MW battery storage project at Ferrybridge will provide flexible generation for Britain’s national grid and a new era for the site.

This Google Map shows the site.

Note.

1. The A1(M) runs up the West side of the map, with the East Coast Main Line going up the East.
2. The circular structures in the middle of the map appear to be the bases and remains of the eight cooling towers.
3. There are a lot of labels saying Ferrybridge power station.
4. One existing and one demolished sub-stations can be located.
5. The last Ferrybridge power station; C had a capacity of just over 2 GW.

The Wikipedia entry for Ferrybridge C, is worth a read, as it details the struggles of various owners and their engineers to generate electricity efficiently and with regard to the regulations.

The site’s use since 2016 seems to have been varied with two multi-fuel power stations, that were designed to burn mixed fuel including biomass, general waste and waste wood, a carbon capture experiment for Chris Huhne and now the 150 MW battery, which other sources give as having a storage capacity of 300 MWh.

It looks to me that SSE still own the large site and I wonder what their plans envisage for the site.

• A large electrolyser to produce hydrogen could be invaluable for decarbonising the heavy industry in the area.
• According to Wikipedia, there was a plan to build the gas-fired Ferrybridge D and a gas pipeline to connect it to the gas transmission system, but neither were built.
• So could the gas pipeline be built to distribute the hydrogen?
• Or could a large hydrogen store and a small hydrogen-powered power-station be built at Ferrybridge to back up the renewables
• Alternatively, more batteries could be added to the site.

The size of the site, gives lots of possibilities.

May 16, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage | Decarbonisation, Ferrybridge Power Station, SSE Renewables