Giant energy storage battery installed at Sheffield biomass plant

The 10 megawatt (MW) lithium-ion battery, which is housed in four 40ft long shipping containers, has the same power as roughly 100 family cars and holds the same amount of energy as 500,000 mobile phone batteries. It has been installed at a 30MW renewable energy plant that converts recycled waste wood into electricity and produces power for around 40,000 homes.

The battery was developed in response to a tender from National Grid to deliver technologies able to respond in less than one second at times of either an over or under supply of energy to the grid.  It is expected to be the first of a fleet of similar systems that will help the grid deal more effectively with multiple, often intermittent, sources of energy.

Power supply and demand on the UK grid have to be matched closely in real-time to maintain a safe frequency so household electrical appliances function properly. Balancing the grid is becoming more challenging because the growing range of renewable generation sources make the electricity system less stable and more prone to changes in frequency.