A land deal has been completed to pave the way for one of Europe’s largest battery storage facilities next to an East Yorkshire substation.
Harmony Energy has agreed a deal with Keyland Developments for a five acre site by Creyke Beck substation at Cottingham.
It is the location where 2.4GW of the 3.6GW of offshore wind capacity to be provided by the Dogger Bank zone will connect to the grid.
Read more: Decarbonisation? Humber has it all mapped out on route to Net Zero
Keyland is the property trading arm of Kelda Group, owner of Yorkshire Water.
Knaresborough-based Harmony has secured planning consent for 100MW of battery storage. It will help balance the grid, through both lulls in generation and increases in electricity demand.
When consented, Alex Thornton, director at Harmony Energy, said: “Battery energy storage is the key to unlocking the true potential of renewable energy and Creyke Beck is a hugely exciting project for us, not least because we will be connecting two of the UK’s largest batteries into the same substation where 2.4GW of offshore wind will come in from the North Sea.
“We see large batteries like these playing an increasingly important role in decarbonising and balancing the grid, as more and more intermittent renewables such as wind and solar assets come online whilst simultaneously traditional coal-fired power plants are retired.
“We expect huge levels of investment into the sector over the next five years and beyond and our pipeline of projects already shows the potential for landowners, investors and for the UK’s future energy security.”
A 40 year lease has been agreed with the business, aligned to Harmony Energy Income Trust, a London Stock Exchange-listed entity that holds preferential rights to acquire and build out the development pipeline.
Peter Garrett, managing director at Keyland, said: “We’re very pleased to get this deal across the line; the energy sector represents an exciting new business area for us to explore and we look forward to sourcing further opportunities from within Kelda Group’s extensive landholding.”
Keyland was advised by Carter Jonas. Energy specialist Simon Currie said: ”We are delighted to have advised Keyland on the development and promotion of this significant energy development site. The project is a prime example of the opportunity that presents itself to landowners and developers with sites adjacent to major grid substations, given the increasing demand for energy storage and frequency management on the grid.”
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