Tesla Constructs Europe’s Biggest Battery Next to Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Project

 A Tesla battery developer has claimed to be the largest battery deployed in Europe so far by storage capacity. The battery has been turned on in northeast England, close to the grid connection point for the sizable Dogger Bank offshore wind farm- a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn.

The industry leader in storage technology developed the 98MW/196MWh Pillswood battery for Harmony Energy Income Trust, a company that invests in large-scale storage assets around the UK.

Pillswood, which according to Harmony Energy- a UK based firm that develops, builds, owns and operates wind, solar and battery energy storage assets, can store enough energy to power about 300,000 homes for two hours, is situated close to Hull and the Creyke Beck substation, which will connect 2.4 GW of the total 3.6 GW being built at Dogger Bank, which is slated to be the largest offshore wind farm in the world when it begins operating in the middle of this decade.

By decreasing the length of time that wind farms need to be shut down due to supply/demand mismatches or network constraints, the battery will help UK network operator National Grid “maximise the efficiency of wind farms,” according to Harmony Energy.

As its commercial foray into the grid-level storage market, Tesla introduced Megapack in 2019. CEO Elon Musk forecasted that Tesla’s energy business would someday grow to be as significant as its marquee automobile branch.

Tesla’s Autobidder artificial intelligence (AI) software, an energy management platform that debuted in the UK in 2020, will be used by Pillswood.

The developer is working on more large battery storage projects across the UK, most of which are scheduled to go into service in 2023. The firm already has two projects using Autobidder in operation.

According to Harmony Energy, Pillswood’s construction was hastened for it to start up in time for the upcoming winter. “Battery energy storage technologies are important to realizing the full promise of renewable energy in the UK,” stated director Peter Kavanagh. In a range of market conditions, these initiatives, which are not funded by state subsidies, might provide shareholders with alluring profits.