49MW fast response battery completed on former coal-fired power station site.
Christmas has come early for the team at Centrica Business Solutions as they celebrate the completion of one of the largest battery storage facilities in Europe. The 49MW Roosecote battery in Cumbria is able to come online in less than a second to meet fluctuations in demand. It is able to hold enough power for around 50,000 homes.
The battery keeps the power network stable by either absorbing power from, or supplying power to the grid. It is part of Centrica’s £180m investment into flexible power which also includes a refurbishment of King’s Lynn power station, plus two fast response gas-fired power stations which opened earlier this year.
Originally home to a coal-fired power station that was later replaced by the country’s first combined cycle gas turbine, the site has been at the forefront of new energy technology for over sixty years.
Mark Futyan, Distributed Power Systems Director at Centrica Business Solutions said: “The Roosecote site is truly unique, having been home to the latest technology of its time and is an exemplar of the transition we’ve made from dirty coal to cleaner, more flexible power. Christmas has indeed come early for our team!”
Construction took around 18 months to complete, having started in March 2017. The battery will now be operated remotely from Centrica’s Energy Centre in Peterborough.