What’s billed as Europe’s largest battery storage facility is set to grow by half again as the go-ahead was given to extend the original Shell-backed project to 150MW.
The Minety battery project in southwest England secured planning consent and grid-connection to add 50MW to the existing 100MW planned, said developer Penso Power.
The 100MW Minety first stage – which is due in service later in 2020 using LiFePO/ternary lithium battery technology – is backed by power giant China Huaneng Group and Chinese government-backed fund CNIC, and underpinned by electricity sale and trading agreements with Shell Energy Europe and Limejump, a unit of the global oil giant.
The 50MW second stage is schedule to start operations next year at an adjacent site, said Penso Power, adding that it’s in talks over offtake arrangements for the additional capacity.
Penso Power CEO Richard Thwaites said: “Minety is a landmark project for UK battery storage. Its sheer size marks it as the most significant battery storage development in Europe so far, dwarfing other battery developments in scale and ambition.
“Our focus on large projects means that we achieve scale benefits on both procurement and deployment costs, while the offtake structure helps us provide superior risk-adjusted returns to our investors."
