Statkraft has announced the signing of two optimisation agreements with Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID), covering two new battery energy storage projects in Scotland.
The new agreements will see the renewable energy giant provide services to optimise charging, discharging and energy trading from the 35-megawatt (MW) Arbroath and 40MW Coupar battery storage projects.
Both plants have transmission connections and are set to begin delivering energy later this year.
Once operational they will help reduce transmission constraints where they’re located, by storing excess renewable power which may have otherwise been curtailed and releasing it when the network is less congested.
Statkraft will use its asset optimisation and algorithmic trading expertise to optimise the facilities, enabling GRID to maximise its income streams across ancillary services and trading markets.
The Swedish energy group operates a “partnership model” and works closely with its clients to achieve the best performance for their assets, using dynamic optimisation techniques and continuous forecasts to maximise margins. This also involves scheduling the assets in real time to move between wholesale market energy optimisation and ancillary services for the grid.
Statkraft VP of customer facing business for the UK and Ireland, Duncan Dale said: “We’re delighted to be working with Gresham House on battery storage projects for the first time. Statkraft looks forward to demonstrating our ability to add value in this space and in future expanding our partnership with Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, who are the largest battery owner in the UK.”
GRID has built a portfolio of utility-scale battery energy storage systems across the UK, and as of the end of June 2022 had 425MW of operational capacity, not including the latest Scottish sites.
Its total operational capacity is expected to reach 690MW by the end of the year.
Managing director for new energy at Gresham and GRID fund manager Ben Guest added: “We’re impressed with Statkraft’s track record and reputation in renewables and flex trading and are looking forward to working closely with Statkraft on battery projects and growing our relationship in the future.”
