The systems have a combined energy storage capacity of 5,7MWh and nearly 2.9MW of power. They have been installed in substations in both urban and rural locations as part of the Customer-Led Network Revolution (CLNR), a three-year smart grid project in the UK funded in part through the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) Low Carbon Networks Fund.
The largest of the systems, a 2.5MW, 5MWh GSS in Darlington, is located in an urban industrial area while one of the smallest, a 50kW GSS, is located in a residential area in Wooler, a small town in Northern England.
“Part of the challenge of installing energy storage in these areas was the wide diversity in the various sites” said Ian Lloyd, CLNR technology manager at Northern Powergrid. “We needed battery systems that could fit into a range of electricity distribution substations, so it was important to have a very flexible battery design to accommodate our very different locations.”
Energy storage is a key component of the CLNR smart grid project and will be used to help integrate more solar and wind energy into the UK network. It will also support other low-carbon technologies. NEC Energy Solutions have supplied lithium-ion based grid battery systems packaged in a variety of enclosures including standard 40-foot containers and smaller customized enclosures. Two of the locations required energy storage systems installed directly into buildings.
“This project enables distribution network operators in the U.K. to implement new technologies designed to increase energy efficiency and support the adoption of clean energy, which represents an excellent opportunity to showcase the flexibility of our products” added Bud Collins, CEO of NEC Energy Solutions. “Our versatile battery energy storage solutions have the proven ability to deliver multiple high-value grid services such as frequency response, operating reserves and many others, and we look forward to demonstrating how advanced lithium ion battery energy storage can help enable a new, low-carbon energy future in the U.K.”
NEC Energy Solutions was formerly known as A123 Energy Solutions, part of A123 Systems, before being acquired by NEC Corporation in a $100M deal finalized in May 2014. The company specialises in advanced energy storage with more than 110MW operating on the grid worldwide. It develops and manufactures smart energy storage solutions for electric grid, backup power and lead-acid replacement applications with system integration expertise focusing on high performance, efficiency, safety and reliability. Its energy storage products range from small industrial batteries to massive grid-scale energy storage systems and its GSS products have successfully operated in commercial revenue service since 2009.
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