Minety Battery Storage Project

The 150MW Minety battery storage project being developed by Penso Power in Wiltshire, south-west England, UK is the biggest battery storage development in Europe.

The grid-scale mega battery energy storage project comprises three adjacent battery storage facilities of 50MW capacity each.

Construction works were simultaneously started on two 50MW facilities in December 2019 with commissioning expected by the end of 2020. The initial 100MW project is being built with Chinese investment while the China Huaneng Group is responsible for the construction and operation of the facility.

Penso Power announced a 50MW expansion to the Minety battery storage project after securing a multi-year power off-take deal for the initial 100MW capacity in February 2020.

The company secured land rights, planning permission and a grid connection offer for the 50MW expansion by March 2020.

Scheduled to achieve 150MW capacity in 2021, the Minety battery project is intended to store the excess electricity generated from renewable sources and supply that power to the grid when needed. The project will help in balancing the UK’s electricity demand and supply while facilitating the country’s transition to a net-zero carbon system. 

Location and site details

The Minety battery storage project is being developed near Minety, approximately 19km northwest of Swindon in Wiltshire County, in south-west England, UK. 

Minety battery storage project make-up 

The 150MW Minety battery storage facility will comprise three 50MW adjacently located battery units utilising lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4)/ ternary lithium battery technology for storing electricity. Each battery unit will feature multiple inverters for discharging the stored electricity in alternate current (AC).

When fully charged, the 150MW battery facility will be capable of holding 150MWh of electricity which will be enough to power approximately 15,000 homes for a day.

The project also involves the construction of a 132kV substation to absorb as well as evacuate power into the grid.

Power evacuation 

The stored electricity from the battery units will be evacuated into the National Grid as well as the Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) electricity transmission networks. 

Power purchase agreement 

Shell Energy Europe Limited (SEEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell, signed an agreement to off-take electricity from the initial 100MW battery storage project in February 2020.

Penso Power is currently seeking a potential off-taker for the 50MW project extension. 

Financing

The initial 100MW battery energy storage project is being funded by the Chinese state-owned electricity generation enterprise China Huaneng Group and the Chinese sovereign wealth fund CNIC Corporation.

Key Players involved with the Minety battery storage project

China Huaneng Group is the main contractor responsible for the construction and operation of the first two 50MW battery storage units.

G2 Energy was engaged as the principal balance of plant (BOP) contractor for the 132kV transmission infrastructure for the project in December 2019. It is responsible to design and build the 132kV substation as well as install all associated switchgear and cabling for the project. 

China-based Sungrow is responsible to integrate the battery storage systems for the 100MW project by using lithium batteries supplied by Samsung and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)

Eclipse Power Networks, an independent distribution network operator (IDNO), is in charge of the grid connection for the project.

Limejump, a subsidiary of Shell, will be responsible for optimising the use of batteries at the site through its Virtual Power Platform (VPP) for the maximum utilisation of renewable power in the area.