Richborough Energy Park’s 100MW/100MWh battery will boost the capacity and flexibility of the network, helping balance the system by soaking up surplus clean electricity and discharging it back when the grid needs it – with a capability to power 250,000 homes for an hour.
The battery will also provide grid stability services, for example helping to manage voltage and frequency imbalances as renewable generation dips up and down. The facility is managed by
To ensure a safe connection, National Grid upgraded its Richborough substation to accommodate new switchgear and installed new protection and control systems on its supergrid transformer, plugging in the project via a tertiary connection – a complex but cost-effective connection type.
Richborough substation already hosts the connection for National Grid’s own 1GW
The battery will help exploit the clean electricity potential of these and other renewable projects in the region, storing and releasing green energy to power homes and businesses and also helping to relieve any system constraints.
“We commend the work of
“It’s been a pleasure to work with the National Grid to develop Richborough Energy Park, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with many more projects to come.
“Having taken control of the site in 2021, I’m proud at the speed and efficiency with which my team has steered the project to financial close in summer 2022, first energisation a year later, full energisation last month, and now into commercial operation.”
“Battery storage has a crucial role to play in delivering a net zero energy system in
“Given the Richborough site’s history, it’s apt that it’s becoming a pivotal part of our network for the energy transition, with our substation connecting clean electricity projects like batteries and interconnectors – all of which are helping
The Richborough site embodies the energy transition from old to new, occupying land where a coal power station generated electricity from the early sixties through to 1996, and stood until its demolition in 2012.
The former coal plant, with its iconic hyperboloid cooling towers, played an important role powering Britain’s early supergrid, just as the new green technologies on site today will help deliver the country’s net zero ambitions. Richborough was also host to an experimental 1MW wind turbine in the late eighties, which at the time was the UK’s largest.
National Grid started redeveloping the site following the demolition of the coal plant, building the converter station for
The subsequent completion of the Richborough Connection project in 2021 plugged the subsea link into the electricity transmission network via the first major new power line to be constructed in
National Grid is investing billions to innovate and evolve the transmission network in
[end]
Notes to editors
About
For more information, visit Pacific Green’s website: www.pacificgreen.com
About Sosteneo
Sosteneo is an investment manager that specialises in greenfield infrastructure projects related to the energy transition with the aim of providing an attractive long-term commercial return to clients whilst making an active contribution to the decarbonisation of the global energy system.
Sosteneo invests in a wide range of technologies, spanning clean energy production (such as solar PV and wind), clean energy enablers (such as battery storage and networks), as well as industry decarbonisation projects. The Sosteneo team brings together a wealth of investment management expertise, complemented by a practical, hands-on background in the energy sector. The team’s collective experience dates back to the inception of renewable energy infrastructure as an institutional-grade asset class over 20 years ago.
Sosteneo is part of the
For further information, visit sosteneo.com.
About National Grid in the
National Grid sits at the heart of Britain’s energy system. The individual companies in our group run the networks and infrastructure that connect millions of people to the electricity they use every day.
Our regulated businesses own and develop the high voltage electricity transmission (ET) network in
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