Battery storage has won 97.5MW of T-1 capacity market contracts for delivery next winter from UK transmission system operator National Grid.
Winning projects include VLC Energy’s facilities in Cleator in Cumbria and Glassenbury in Kent, which won 2.1MW and 8.5MW contracts respectively.
Both plants are operational under the 2016 Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender.
Other successful projects include Foresight’s EFR sites at Port of Tyne and Nevendon in Essex, plus Battery Energy Storage System’s facilities in Claredown in Essex and Aylesford in Kent.
A further 3MW out of the total 5.78GW T-1 capacity procured at a price of £6 per kilowatt was compressed air storage.
Gas generation took the lion’s share with 4.37GW, equivalent to 75.5%. Coal generation contracts amounted to 437MW, 7.5% of the total.
Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit analyst Jonathan Marshall said: “Coal-fired generation in the UK is in freefall, and more plant closures – as expected by the government – will see this continue.
“The terminal decline of coal power is coming at the right time, when ever-cheaper renewables are able to fill in the gap, and concerns about air pollution spread around the country.”
Image: Low Carbon’s Glassenbury plant (Low Carbon)
Capacity success for UK storage
By EBS