Ørsted Completes First Standalone Battery Storage Project

As part of its nascent plans to begin expanding into other clean energy technologies, Danish wind energy giant Ørsted announced earlier this month that it completed its first standalone battery storage project, the 20 megawatt (MW) Carnegie Road battery project located in Liverpool, England.

The Carnegie Road battery storage project was announced in April of 2018 to be built in Liverpool, England, and which will provide services to the UK’s National Grid to support grid stability during shifts in power generation. While it would not be the company’s first foray into energy storage itself, it is the company’s first standalone, large-scale project.

The company had previously announced small demonstration projects in Denmark, the UK, and Taiwan, and currently boasts a behind-the-meter 2 MW battery at its Burbo Bank offshore wind farm which supports the 90 MW offshore wind farm’s production scheduling.

The newly completed 20 MW Carnegie Road battery project consists of three battery containers and associated power conversion systems, both provided by NEC Energy Solutions. Its primary function is to provide grid balancing services to National Grid, the company which operates the UK’s national electricity grid. Ørsted does not release megawatt-hour capacity figures for its battery storage announcements for “commercial reasons,” according to a company press representative.

“Climate change is a real and pressing threat to our planet and, in order to minimise its effects, we urgently need to decarbonise our electricity system,” explained Matthew Wright, UK Managing Director at Ørsted. “The good news is, we’re on the right path, especially in the UK, where we lead the world in deploying renewable technologies, such as offshore wind.

“We have a vision to create a world that runs entirely on green energy, and that means we will need more than just clean energy generation. That’s why we’re investing in energy storage systems like Carnegie Road, to accelerate the transition to a smarter, low carbon grid. Batteries, and other innovative storage technologies will form a critical part of an integrated green energy system required to ensure we keep the lights on without harming our planet.”

“We believe that energy storage will play a pivotal role in a world that runs entirely on green energy,” added Juliette Sanders, Ørsted’s Deputy Head of Media, who spoke via email. “Energy storage is the catalyst between production and consumers, that will enable the complete transformation of power production from fossil fuels to renewable energy.”

“Our electricity consumption pattern is changing and is becoming less predictable as we use more electronic devices and electrify our transport system,” added Bridgit Hartland-Johnson, who is part of Ørsted’s newly formed Onshore business unit and is leading on developing new energy storage projects in the UK. “The way we generate electricity is also changing as we add more low carbon sources from wind and solar to the grid. These changes mean that the way we balance and operate the grid, also need to adapt to become more agile and flexible. The combination of storage and renewable energy means we can now deliver infrastructure that enhances grid operations and ultimately delivers much better value for us as consumers.”

Looking forward, Ørsted is hoping to continue in its energy storage offerings through 2019. “We will continue to look at a number of battery and energy storage solutions, that can provide frequency and grid support to the power grid along with other services,” explained Juliette Sanders. “We are looking to develop our business model over time and will be looking at standalone solutions like Carnegie Road, projects directly linked to producing assets like the 2MW battery at Burbo Bank, or solar, and we will also be looking at other opportunities.”