Page 16 - Energize July 2022

NEWS

Massive energy storage system to help

achieve net zero

he technology group Wärtsilä will moment for us as we help one of the UK’s largest energy players scale up renewable energy
partner with low carbon energy and provide more British consumers with reliable, low-cost, and clean energy.”
Tcompany SSE to deliver a 50 MW Richard Cave-Bigley, SSE’s Director of Solar and Battery, said: “Today is a key milestone
/ 100 MWh energy storage system in for SSE as we build our first battery storage project at Salisbury, but it is also just the
Salisbury, Wiltshire. The battery will be the beginning of a multi-GW pipeline of solar and battery projects to come.
first connected directly to the transmission “Battery storage has a key role to play in helping the UK to decarbonise by ensuring we
network by SSE’s new solar and battery make the most of the increasing levels of renewable energy coming onto the Grid. SSE is
division and will support access to investing £24-billion (about R530-billion) over this decade (about R75-million a day) in low
clean, reliable energy by balancing the carbon infrastructure of this kind and we are delighted to be working alongside Wärtsilä to
intermittency of renewables. The order provide the balancing and flexibility services we need to help the UK get to net zero.”
was booked to Wärtsilä’s intake in April Wärtsilä is currently installing similar sized energy storage systems across the UK,
2022 and the system is expected to demonstrating their commitment to supporting more renewable energy and helping the UK
become operational in September 2023. reach its net zero targets. Energy storage capacity will need to dramatically rise to 18 GW by
The partnership marks an important 2035 to manage the transition, according to modelling from Wärtsilä.
step in the UK’s path towards net zero. Not The project will include Wärtsilä’s GridSolv Quantum, a fully integrated, modular and
only is it the first grid-scale battery project compact energy storage system, as well as the GEMS Digital Energy Platform, Wärtsilä’s
developed by SSE, but it will also help the sophisticated energy management software.
UK to scale up energy storage to meet its
ambitious renewable energy targets. Contact Piia Leinonen, Wärtsilä Energy, piia.leinonen@wartsila.com, www.wartsila.com
The energy storage system will support
the UK’s national grid with reliable services
such as wholesale market trading, crucial
for balancing renewable energy generation
throughout the day. The UK’s energy
storage pipeline has doubled within the
past year, demonstrating the growing
importance of energy flexibility, as the
UK scales up its renewable capacity. By
supporting SSE to scale up its significant
ambition in energy storage systems,
Wärtsilä is enabling more British energy
consumers to access secure renewable
energy, reducing costs while lowering
carbon emissions.
Kenneth Engblom, Vice President for
Europe and Africa, Wärtsilä Energy said:
“The UK can capitalise on its massive
potential for renewable energy by building
more of it right now, but energy storage
must not be overlooked – effectively
balancing the intermittency of renewables
is the missing part of the net zero puzzle.
If properly deployed, energy storage will
enable the grid to deal with fluctuations
in renewable energy supply, and ensure
that the end users of energy have secured
power supply as we switch to cheaper,
cleaner energy. This project is a big

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