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Fintray wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:38 am

Oldgreybeard wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 9:06 am The big problem seems to be the tiny scale of UK battery storage. We have a "big" battery installation not far from us (this one: https://www.dorsetbiznews.co.uk/pivotal ... in-dorset/) which is probably going to be doubled in capacity soon (there's a planning application in for this now). This "big" storage plant has a capacity of only 40MWh, increasing to 80MWh when the new battery is added to the existing one in a year or two.

That is so trivial an amount of energy storage as to almost be a joke. The total capacity needed to run the UK grid for just one hour without generation would need about 625 to 650 of those "big" battery plants. There are smaller battery systems being installed at some solar and wind farm connection points, plus the tiny little units that are being used to handle demand surges at some car charging installations, but it's a very tiny drop in the ocean when compared to the sort of storage we need. We need storage on the scale of half a dozen Dinorwigs, and I just don't have any confidence in battery storage coming close to that in my remaining lifetime.

Reading this got me thinking about a site I saw locally when out driving that I thought looked like containers for battery systems. I just checked on the area planning department website and found it is a battery storage system of 50MW. Looking through the other applications I counted at least 700MW of battery storage proposals, so there is a fair amount in planning.

dan_b wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:57 pm 700MW of power, or 700MWh or energy storage?

Fintray wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:53 pm

Fintray wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:38 am

Oldgreybeard wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 9:06 am The big problem seems to be the tiny scale of UK battery storage. We have a "big" battery installation not far from us (this one: https://www.dorsetbiznews.co.uk/pivotal ... in-dorset/) which is probably going to be doubled in capacity soon (there's a planning application in for this now). This "big" storage plant has a capacity of only 40MWh, increasing to 80MWh when the new battery is added to the existing one in a year or two.

That is so trivial an amount of energy storage as to almost be a joke. The total capacity needed to run the UK grid for just one hour without generation would need about 625 to 650 of those "big" battery plants. There are smaller battery systems being installed at some solar and wind farm connection points, plus the tiny little units that are being used to handle demand surges at some car charging installations, but it's a very tiny drop in the ocean when compared to the sort of storage we need. We need storage on the scale of half a dozen Dinorwigs, and I just don't have any confidence in battery storage coming close to that in my remaining lifetime.

Reading this got me thinking about a site I saw locally when out driving that I thought looked like containers for battery systems. I just checked on the area planning department website and found it is a battery storage system of 50MW. Looking through the other applications I counted at least 700MW of battery storage proposals, so there is a fair amount in planning.

The one near Kintore was the one I was referencing in the above quote.

Mr Gus wrote: ↑Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:45 pm Nice

Because storage is good for local use as well as an island wide grid connect up (last convo was kinda written off due to connectivity feed deemed to expensive for not enough delivery to england ..Scotland needs power too ) furling commercial turbines when wind is plentiful is NUTS.

My highland granny used to be cut off from the big towns for months over winter, something most southerners rarely experience, battery storage is also modernisation as well as a feeder for "down sarf-ish"