Wärtsilä is set to deploy its new Quantum High Energy battery energy storage system (BESS) solution for a 300MW/600MWh project in Scotland.
The technology provider and system integrator announced yesterday morning (15 February) that it has signed a contract to deliver its BESS to UK-headquartered Zenobē Energy, a developer and investor in energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions.
Located in Kilmarnock, around 26 miles from the metropolitan area of Glasgow, it will be aimed at helping integrate growing shares of wind energy onto the grid. Construction began on the asset in January and it is scheduled for completion by the end of next year.
While the involvement of the Energy Storage & Optimisation (ES&O) arm of Finnish engine power plant and marine propulsion group Wärtsilä was already announced by Zenobē last month along with the closing of £147 million (US$184.46 million) financing towards the project – as reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time – more details were given today on the technology and the applications it will serve.
One notable aspect in that regard is that the project has received some funding from National Grid ESO, electricity system operator for the grid in Great Britain (GB), due to the key role it will play in helping stabilise the grid.
The ESO was spun out from the transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid as a separate entity a few years back, and while the TSO is tasked with maintaining the physical grid infrastructure, National Grid ESO’s job is to maintain the electric system’s reliability and security of supply on a day-to-day basis.
As part of that, the ESO’s Network Options Assessment (NOA) decides where investment into reinforcing the system should be directed, including what sorts of technologies, as well as geographical or grid node locations.
Zenobē’s Kilmarnock South BESS has been designated as an NOA Stability Pathfinder project, as it will help support the operation of the grid as it transitions away from reliance on thermal power generation from fossil fuels and nuclear energy towards renewables.
