Why are batteries critical for UK’s exponential wind power growth and net zero targets?

Offshore wind has become a real success story for the UK energy sector, enabled by the government which is keen to meet its legally binding target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

The UK now possess around 14 GW of connected offshore wind energy across 44 wind farms totalling over 2,600 turbines. It installed over 3.2 GW of new installations in 2022 alone which made up almost 60% of total installations in Europe that year.

The UK also boasts Hornsea One and Two, which with a capacity of 1,218 MW and 1,386 respectively, and is currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Seagreen Phase 1 is set to commission in 2023 and Dogger Bank A which is under construction and set to commission in 2024 will have a capacity of 1,235 MW.

It is clear that the UK is leading the drive to make the technology productive and cost competitive.

At a fundamental level, wind generation presents three major challenges for the grid:

1. Intermittency: the wind doesn’t always blow when you need it to.

2. Variability: wind patterns can change rapidly, over or under-delivering on forecasts.

3. Stability: renewable power (including wind) is replacing traditional coal and gas-fired plant that contribute inertia to the grid, helping to stabilise system frequency, (which keeps grid infrastructure safe and functioning).

Batteries can help to address this issue by providing a way to store excess wind power when it is generated and discharge it when demand is high. This can help to smooth out the variability of wind power and provide a more reliable and stable source of energy.

By integrating batteries with wind power, it is possible to increase the overall penetration of wind power in the grid without compromising grid stability.

Furthermore, batteries can help to improve the economics of wind power by allowing wind turbines to operate at maximum capacity when there is sufficient wind, even if the grid does not need all the energy being generated at that moment. The excess energy can be stored in batteries and discharged later when the grid demand is high, allowing wind turbines to operate more efficiently and reducing the need for curtailment.

Last year alone National Grid curtailed almost 7% of wind power which cost tax payers in the region of £1.3 bn. With wind power set to grow exponentially, there is more than just a need to install batteries for supporting wind developments.

At L48 BESS we are driven by data and research to locate BESS at locations that will create maximum impact in contributing to the next zero targets and supporting our leading wind industry.

We are developing project at onshore landing locations of Moray East/West Wind farms, Seagreen wind farm and other strategic locations that would help accelerate the clean energy transition.