The final 5MW of battery storage at South Somerset District Council’s (SSDC) Fideoak Mill site in Taunton is now live, taking it to 30MW.
The firm behind the project, Yeovil-based Opium Power, intends to develop a further 110MW of storage across three sites. It will work with Kiwi Power to monetise those projects through balancing services, according to director David Owen.
“Grid scale battery storage is the essential required component to stabilise the inherently unstable and non-dispatchable energy generated by solar and wind,” he suggested.
Commissioning the first 25MW in June, Kiwi Power head of hardware, Alistair Lowe, said the firm built a simulator to enable much of the work to be done remotely.
Located in a constrained zone, all 22 units have been completely synchronised, according to Kiwi, enabling them to shut off instantaneously in response to a signal from Western Power Distribution.
BYD and BSR Connect are also involved in the project.
