UK's Pivot Power starts work on Oxford private wire EV charging network

EDF-owned Pivot Power has begun building its first private wire electric vehicle recharging network in south Oxford as it prepares to accelerate the roll-out of its HV-connected battery storage assets, Pivot CEO Matt Allen told S&P Global Platts July 23.

The network, offering 38 fast charge points at Redbridge Park and Ride, is due to be up and running in Q1 2022. A 10 MW high voltage connection provides scope for expansion as EV adoption grows, the company said.

At the same time, Pivot was securing land, grid connection agreements and permits for the next batch of its 36 battery storage sites in England and Wales. Funding for additional sites could be in place early next year, Allen said.

"What has become very clear over last 12 months is the rationale to seriously consider accelerating our plans," he told Platts.

Driving the acceleration was the growth in renewable energy, linked to National Grid's increasing need for flexibility.

The emergence of National Grid's Dynamic Containment service was a case in point, with 837 MW of UK battery storage capacity successfully participating in the daily auction for July 23 delivery, earning around GBP408/MW/day ($561/MW/day).

The need for this type of service would only grow, Allen said, referencing the system operator's latest Future Energy Scenario forecasts.

These see a need for between 34 GW and 77 GW of new wind and solar generation to meet demand in 2030, requiring as much as 13 GW of new electricity storage to help balance the system.

"I can see regional as well as national products and services developing in response to the need to stabilize the overarching transmission system," he said.

Regional constraint tenders, for instance, could influence Pivot's site prioritization process, assuming connection dates aligned.

The private wire/EV recharging element of its business case, however, remained a significant driver in project development.

"This is something we can control to a certain extent -- we see interesting opportunities in Coventry and NW Birmingham, just as we saw with Oxford City Council as an early mover [in decarbonizing its public transport]," Allen said.

The challenge was selecting sites that could provide value to the overall electricity system along with a strong financial return, "proving out the business model and getting to volume. It's good to get to 200 MW, but now we're thinking about how we could deploy another 500 MW within the next two or three years," he said.

Projects three and four

Pivot has just placed a second order with Wartsila for 100 MW/200 MWh of battery storage systems for two projects in the West Midlands.

Construction is to start on 50 MW units at Sandwell in Q4 2021 and at Coventry in Q1 2022.

Wartsila previously supplied 50 MW projects at Kemsley in Kent, and Cowley in Oxford.

The UK is Europe's leading battery storage market with 1.1 GW in operation, 600 MW in construction and 8.3 GW consented, according to sector association RenewableUK.

Secondary legislation came into force in December 2020 allowing local planning authorities to determine projects of over 50 MW in England and 350 MW in Wales.

Previously these were determined by central government, making the process longer and more complex.

On July 15, Penso Power's 100 MW Minety asset in Wiltshire was declared fully operational -- the largest in the UK to date.