London Outdoor Power BESS

This, in turn, demands greater flexibility in the UK energy system – for example, in terms of battery storage. The UK is a global leader in the deployment of grid-scale BESS, and was among the first countries to actively pursue BESS investments.

The research by UK independent power producer Root-Power identifies 173 BESS projects, with a combined capacity of 7.6GW, likely to benefit from changes designed to accelerate the UK's transition to clean power.

The UK is a global leader in the deployment of grid-scale BESS, and was among the first countries to actively pursue BESS investments. The island has limited interconnection capacity and a heavy reliance on wind energy, which is why it needs BESS to ensure stability in its electricity system. The electricity system in the UK is rapidly evolving.

Meanwhile, Eku Energy reports that it has energised two new BESS sites in the UK. The 40 MW/55 MWh Loudwater BESS is located near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. The 28 MW/56 MWh Basildon BESS is in Essex. Both projects are expected to be commissioned soon.

As of June 2023, there are 161 operational BESS sites in the UK of varying sizes with a combined electricity storage capacity of 2.6GWh (enough to power around 5 million homes for an hour). Alongside Australia and the US, the UK is one of the leaders in the adoption of battery storage to support renewable energy generation.

In the second part in our series on backup power for Europe, we review the developments in the UK BESS market. The UK is one of the most attractive European countries for Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) investments.