Welbar Energy Storage, a joint venture between Penso Power and Luminous Energy, has received planning permission to develop and deploy a five-hour duration 350MW grid-connected battery storage system in the UK.
The HamsHall lithium-ion battery energy storage project in North Warwickshire, UK, has a capacity of 1,750MWh and has a duration of more than five hours.
The 350MW HamsHall battery energy storage system will be deployed in conjunction with PensoPower's 100MW Minety solar farm that will be commissioned in 2021
Penso Power said it would provide a wide range of services to support UK grid operations, including the potential for longer duration services.
According to the survey report, the UK will need up to 24GW of long-term energy storage to fully decarbonise the grid by 2035. The growth needs of the energy storage industry are receiving increasing attention, including the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announcing nearly £7 million in funding to support its development earlier this year.
The HamsHall battery storage system is being deployed in east Birmingham as part of more than 3GWh of battery storage projects funded by global maritime company BW Group, under an agreement announced by Penso Power in October 2021.
Penso Power, Luminous Energy and BW Group will all be joint shareholders in the development of the Hams Hall battery storage project, and the first two companies will also oversee the battery storage project as it becomes operational.
Penso Power previously developed the Minety battery energy storage project with an installed capacity of 100MW, which will be fully operational in July 2021. The energy storage project consists of two 50MW battery storage systems, with plans to add another 50MW.
The company hopes to continue developing and deploying larger, longer-duration battery storage systems.
Meanwhile, Luminous Energy focuses on developing large-scale solar and battery storage projects, having deployed more than 1GW of battery storage projects around the world.
