Kona Energy secures consent for 200-MW battery in England

May 26 (Renewables Now) - UK energy storage developer Kona Energy today said it has received planning consent for a 200-MW battery storage project located in the coastal town of Heysham in Lancashire, England.

Benefiting from a location at the landing point of six offshore wind farms, the battery, which is set to become one of the largest in Europe when completed, will help to ease grid constraint, reduce energy bills and increase renewables use, the developer said. The project is part of a 1-GW energy storage portfolio that Kona Energy is developing across the UK.

The battery will also provide local grid services such as inertia and reactive power support, which will become more important after the closure of the Heysham nuclear power plants in 2024 and 2028, the firm said.

Kona founder Andy Willis explained the project is connecting on what is referred to as the B7a constraint boundary, a highly constrained area where wind farms and other low-carbon technologies are often curtailed. “As these constraint costs rise, projects like this are essential to relieving network congestion and reducing unnecessary waste,” added Willis.