Pivot Power activates 50-MW battery storage in UK

EDF Renewables subsidiary Pivot Power Ltd. has activated a 50-MW/50-MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system at its Kemsley site in Kent, U.K.

Finland-headquartered technology company Wärtsilä Oyj Abp supplied the advanced battery energy storage technology for the project, while EDF Energy Ltd.'s Powershift platform will provide route to market services.

The project is directly connected to National Grid PLC's high-voltage transmission network at the Kemsley substation. It is part of Pivot Power's strategy to deploy up to 40 similar sites throughout the U.K. using the "Energy Superhub" model, which will provide 2 GW of flexible capacity to the country's power grid.

The Kemsley battery storage system is the second to go live, following a similar project in Oxford which was activated in June. Pivot Power plans to replicate the Energy Superhub model at its next two sites in Coventry and Sandwell in the West Midlands, with a collective storage capacity of 100 MW/200 MWh.

EDF Renewables targets to add 10 GW of battery storage to its portfolio by 2035.

EDF Renewables and EDF Energy are subsidiaries of Electricité de France SA.