Centrica To Build Largest Battery Storage Project To Date
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.
These three paragraphs outline the news.
Centrica Business Solutions has secured the development rights to a 65MW two-hour battery storage plant in Perthshire, Scotland, its largest battery storage acquisition to date.
The site in Abernethy is located near a connection for North Sea offshore wind farms and will help manage grid capacity by charging when demand for power is low, and discharging when demand is at its highest.
Once connected to the grid in 2028, the 65MW two-hour battery will be able to store enough electricity to power 130,000 homes for an hour – the equivalent to a town the size of Aberdeen. The discharge could happen up to four times a day.
This map shows the site of the substation at Abernethy.
It seems a site with enough space for a 65 MW/130 MWh battery.
But is that a railway running past the site in the South-East corner of the map?
Yes! It is the single-track unelectrified railway that is used by trains to go between Edinburgh and Perth.
- There are stations at both ends of the single-track section at Ladybank and Perth.
- Abernethy substation looks like it is about halfway between the two end stations.
This page on Scotland’s Railway is entitled Fife Electrification and lists these four phases.
- Haymarket and Dalmeny
- Kinghorn and Thornton North
- Thornton and Lochgelly
- Thorton and Ladybank
The page also says that the electrification will support BEMUs (Battery Electric Multiple Units)
I feel that the electrification to Ladybank and Centrica’s battery could be linked.
- If the electrification was extended a few miles to Abernethy substation, this would surely be a reliable way to power the electrification.
- It would also be ideally placed, if Perth and Ladybank were to be electrified.
- The new battery would surely smooth out any deviations in the power supply.
I certainly don’t expect that Centrica will object to a new customer.
Electrification Between Edinburgh And Ladybank
Consider.
- Edinburgh and Ladybank is 39 miles and takes a couple of minutes over an hour.
- Once, the four phases of the electrification are complete, only the 13.6 miles between Dalmeny and Kinghorn, will be without electrification.
- I doubt that Dalmeny and Kinghorn will ever be electrified, as it includes the Forth Rail Bridge.
- Dalmeny and Kinghorn is 13.6 miles and takes around twenty-four minutes.
It looks like the BEMUs will be under wires for 25.4 miles and nearly forty minutes, which will be more than enough to charge the trains.
Edinburgh And Aberdeen
In Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, I said this about services between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Consider.
-
- The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
- There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
- Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.
I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.
The 25.4 miles of new Fife electrification between Haymarket and Ladybank will reduce gap in the electrification to 105 miles and ensure trains leaving Ladybank for Aberdeen had a full battery.
The Anonymous Widower 
Are they serious going to take five years to get it built? Doesn’t bode well to getting us anywhere net zero we need this amount being commissioned every month for next decade if we are to run the grid emission free by 2035.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 7, 2023 |
I would expect it’s a serious date from Centrica. So it may take into account planning delays, battery deliveries and when the battery is actually needed.
Comment by AnonW | July 8, 2023 |
I did recollect last night that there is an issue with getting grid connections because of the haphazard way this country is going about trying to achieve net zero. Also looking at the power system the local substation is being upgraded from 60MVA to 120MVA to support additions of renewable generation in the area so looks like Centrica are out to soak up that power rather than offshore wind which makes far more sense. Actually all new solar/wind farms should have mandated storage now either collocated or maybe one geographic installation attached to a grid point so we dont lose the energy when its available. Already today 20GWh has been constrained off the grid because in high summer we have good solar supressing demand but if wind output is also high it has to be cut back because the ESO has limited control of solar as its millions of panels on domestic and commercial roofs. This is why we need more storage now not in five years time its only going to get worse as the next generation of 1GW+ offshore windfarms get commissioned.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 8, 2023
Ine of the reasons, I like Cheesecake, Gravitricity and Highview Power, is that they can add substantial storage quickly, without requiring tonnes of rare metals or a large site.
Comment by AnonW | July 8, 2023 |