Varco Energy and Fluence Energy Inc said the first phase of their Sizing John Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the United Kingdom is now in full commercial operation and has entered phase 2.
“The 57 MW/137.5 MWh project is located within the Mersey Ring east of Liverpool, a region known for its acute grid constraints”, a joint statement said.
Sizing John Phase 1 has “one of the longest durations [2.4 hours] of any operational battery project in the UK”, the companies said. “Its longer duration will help lower overall energy costs by addressing growing congestion in the region and reducing price volatility created by rising renewable generation”.
Phase 2, which will continue to involve intelligent energy storage and optimization software provider Fluence, will add 85.5 MW/201 MWh. The partners expect to start up phase 2 next year.
“On energization of phase 2, the Sizing John project will rank among the largest battery energy storage systems in the UK”, the companies said.
“Phase 2 will incorporate the Fluence-supplied next-generation Gridstack Pro 5000 with advanced grid-forming capabilities, providing critical support to the UK’s grid by actively regulating voltage and frequency, providing essential regional grid stability”, they said.
Varco director Richard Whitmore said, “The addition of grid-forming capabilities will set a new standard for regional grid support, especially in the wake of recent Iberian Peninsula blackout”.
Brian Perusse, Fluence managing director for the UK and Ireland, said, “Sizing John is a key step in bringing longer-duration storage and additional grid-forming capabilities to the UK, technologies that play a vital role in improving system resilience, unlocking greater renewable integration and reducing costs to consumers”.
Sizing John is the second project by Varco, a BESS asset owner and operator backed by the Adaptogen Capital Battery Storage Fund, to start operation, according to the statement. Native River BESS, also in Liverpool, reached full commercial operation last April with a capacity of 57 MW/138 MWh.
“Over the next eighteen months, Varco expects to energize a further 250 MW of assets in the UK, with a further 275 MW in its pipeline”, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Fluence, a joint venture between Germany’s Siemens AG and Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corp, recently secured a partnership with LEAG Clean Power GmbH, part of LEAG Group, to build what they said will be Europe’s biggest BESS with a one-gigawatt (GW)/four GWh capacity in Jänschwalde, Germany.
“The technical design as a four-hour storage facility helps to stabilize the grid and enables optimal utilization of the existing grid connection”, LEAG Clean Power managing director Thomas Brandenburg said in a joint statement November 7.
“The GigaBattery Jänschwalde 1000 system will be designed to deliver essential grid services, support energy trading, reinforce Germany’s energy security and drive the energy transition forward at scale”, Fluence and LEAG said.
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