Tesla To Build 100MW Battery Storage Facilities In The UK: Megapack Hit

Global clean energy enterprise Tag Energy has grown its UK presence following the acquisition of a 60% stake in two 50MW battery storage projects in a joint venture with Harmony Energy, as per their news release on 16 November 2021. TagEnergy is a clean energy enterprise for a new cycle in the renewable energy industry. It was formed in 2019 to accelerate the energy transition by developing and investing in competitive and Clean Power Stations in order to compete directly and actively on the energy markets.

Founded more than ten years ago, Harmony Energy is now one of the UK’s leading independent developers of utility-scale battery energy storage projects. They also develop, build, own and operate wind and solar projects. Their wind business is backed by some of the world’s largest infrastructure investors including Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

Peter Kavanagh, Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Energy, said: “We are pleased to announce this deal with Tag Energy which has been under negotiation since January. This is the last stand alone battery transaction outside of the Harmony Energy Income Trust and we very much look forward to working with another highly experienced partner on these two sites.”

The projects will increase the country’s energy storage capabilities and add flexibility and stability to the UK grid to support the transition to a clean energy future. Both projects will use Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries, together with Tesla’s Autobidder AI software for real-time trading and control. According to their press release, the deal comprises:

• Chapel Farm standalone Battery Energy Storage System of 49.5MW/99MWh near Luton, England; and
• Jamesfield Farm standalone Battery Energy Storage System of 49MW/98MWh near Abernethy, Scotland.

Construction of both projects will commence in Q1 2022, with commissioning in Q1 2023. The projects represent a combined investment of close to £60MM (about 80,5 MM US dollars).

A Tesla Megapack basically transforms the way to power the grid - delivering giga-scale capacity; in their own words “… take everything we know about battery technology to enable the world's largest energy projects. A 1 Gigawatt hour (GWh) project provides record energy capacity - enough to power every home in San Francisco for 6 hours”.

Every Megapack arrives pre-assembled and pre-tested in one enclosure from Tesla’s Gigafactory - including battery modules, bi-directional inverters, a thermal management system, an AC main breaker and controls, etc. No assembly is required, all you need to do is connect Megapack’s AC output to a site wiring. At the site level, Megapack requires 40% less space and 10x fewer parts than current systems on the market. As a result, this high-density, modular system can be installed 10x faster than current systems. The key points from a technical point of view are:

• Renewable Smoothing: smooth out the intermittency of renewables by storing and dispatching when needed;
• T&D Investment Deferral: postpone costly grid infrastructure upgrades by supplying power at a distributed location to defer the need to upgrade aging infrastructure;
• Voltage Support: inject and absorb reactive power to maintain local voltage levels on the grid;
• Capacity Support: discharge at times of peak capacity to reduce demands on distribution and transmission infrastructure;
• Microgrid: build a localized grid that can disconnect from the main power grid;
• Market Participation: provide service to the grid in response to signals sent by system operators;
• Frequency Regulation: maintain grid stability by rapidly changing charge or discharge power in response to changes in grid frequency;

Tesla Megapack is basically designed for utilities and large-scale commercial customers. As we mentioned in many articles before, any energy company (like Harmony Energy and Tag Energy, in this case) and by the way, any State, Province, Municipality, or even whole countries could greatly benefit by having a clear and focused green and sustainable policy, as they would save significant amounts of money in the first place; and could easily relocate those savings in community-driven projects as a plus. That is not to mention the environmental, social and ethical benefits of these kind of projects.

All images courtesy of Tesla Inc.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.