Green light for battery energy storage facility

Yorkshire-based Harmony Energy has secured planning permission for a second 49.5MW battery energy storage system at Creyke Beck substation in Cottingham, near Hull.

This is the second battery energy storage scheme on the site to be brought forward by Harmony Energy, which develops, builds, owns and operates renewable energy assets in the UK and overseas.

It is also the latest of a large pipeline of utility-scale storage and subsidy free solar projects that the developer will build, own and operate, with construction about to start on its first battery project on the south coast.

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.”