Energy solutions group SMS has energised its first battery energy storage system in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.
The project is capable of storing and releasing up to 50MW of power.
Following energisation, SMS – which independently owns, manages, and operates the system – will now begin delivering a range of balancing and ancillary services.
In addition to the newly operational Burwell site, a 40MW system in Barnsley, Yorkshire, is nearing completion and due to come online this year, whilst work also began in late 2021 on two more 50MW sites in Suffolk and Derbyshire.
John Flaherty, Managing Director of Grid-Scale Energy Storage at SMS, said: “With the energisation of our first storage site, and three more projects due to come online in relatively quick succession, our ambitions for leading the growth of this fast-emerging sector couldn’t be much clearer.
“Our batteries will play a significant role in improving the integration of renewables and help bolster system resilience as we come to rely on clean energy generation. Such benefits are central to reaching net zero emissions, and our aim as a business is to deploy the low-carbon assets required at scale to achieve that goal as soon as possible.”