The Winking Hill BESS will connect directly into the substation which previously served the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station which was decommissioned last year. It is designed to store surplus electricity and release it during periods of high demand, supporting the stability and flexibility of the electricity grid across England and the wider UK.
“We are delighted to receive consent for the Winking Hill BESS” said Jenna Folkard, Project Manager for RES. “Battery energy storage is one of the most effective tools we have to support the decarbonisation of the grid while keeping the electricity system resilient and responsive. Projects like Winking Hill will underpin the clean energy system of the future, enabling the accelerated roll out of renewable energy and replacing the reliance on fossil fuel electricity generation. We’re proud that this project gets to play its’ part in supporting the transition to a cleaner and more efficient grid network following the decommissioning of the Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station.”
In addition to stabilising and decarbonising the national grid, the Winking Hill BESS will deliver significant biodiversity enhancements through careful land and ecological enhancement. The project includes dedicated areas for native planting, hedgerow creation, and habitat diversification – resulting in an estimated 77 percent increase in habitat units and a 66 percent uplift in hedgerow units compared with the site’s baseline. This approach exceeds national Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) policy requirements and demonstrates RES’ commitment to delivering environmental and energy resilience hand-in-hand.
RES has a strong track record for working with the local supply chain around its projects and maximising inward investment. There are expected to be opportunities for local contractors and employees to get involved in the construction phase, which is expected to take around 12 months.
The company has been working in the battery energy storage market for a decade and design safe battery energy storage projects using proven Lithium iron phosphate technology. RES has developed over 830 MW of energy storage projects across the UK and Ireland and currently manage over 600 MW of operational storage projects with 24/7/365 monitoring provided from our control centre in Glasgow.
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