Pivot Power, part of EDF Renewables, has won planning approval for two new grid-scale battery storage facilities in Bedfordshire and Cornwall.
The first project, in Sundon near Luton, comprises a 50MW/100 megawatt-hour (MWh) lithium ion facility expected to start construction in early 2023.
It will be connected to National Grid’s Sundon substation later in the year.
Once constructed, Pivot Power will also develop a private wire for electric vehicle (EV) charging.
The other project, in Indian Queens, is also for a 50MW/100MWh battery.
Pivot Power will share a grid connection with two other developers, including Renewable Connections, which submitted a joint planning application with Pivot Power.
Both companies have received consent for a 50MW/100 MWh battery each for construction and connection to the National Grid in 2024.
Pivot Power will also support the local community by adding a private wire once the battery is live, helping to bolster the EV charging infrastructure in Cornwall.
Alongside a similar site in the West Midlands, which started construction last year, the Sundon and Indian Queens battery storage facilities will replicate core elements of Pivot Power’s Energy Superhub Oxford project.
The Oxford site will combine a cutting-edge 50 MW hybrid battery with an EV charging network, providing a “blueprint for towns and cities across the UK to reduce carbon emissions and support sustainable economic growth”.
Pivot Power CEO Matt Allen said: “Pivot Power’s smart power infrastructure will help to manage the intermittency of renewables and improve the resilience of the UK’s electricity system.
“Working closely with local councils, we will help to create a smarter, more flexible grid and supercharge the path to net zero.”
John Leith, development director at Renewable Connections said: “We have worked closely with Pivot Power and National Grid to design and consent a combined battery storage asset suitable for connection at the end of the transmission network in Cornwall.”
Pivot Power’s portfolio of Energy Superhubs in the UK will support EDF’s ambition to become “Europe’s leading e-mobility energy company by 2023” and forms a key pillar of its plan to develop an additional 10 GW of battery storage globally by 2035.