The British company Zenobē has just announced the connection of a huge battery on its Blackhillrock site in Scotland. With 400 MWh of capacity and a power of 200 MW which will still be extended, this equipment is presented as the most storage site based on European batteries. The site will therefore become a pillar of the energy infrastructure of Scotland.
The country is embedded in a spectacular transition to renewable energies, which are available in abundance north of the archipelago. The Scottish coasts, in particular, are constantly traded by very powerful winds, thanks to its advantageous geographical positioning.
Storage, keystone of renewable energy
Unsurprisingly, wind turbines therefore found itself at the heart of the energy transition strategy of Scotland, which is today part of the champions in the matter. In recent years, she has produced regularly Over 95% of its total electricity without burning the slightest gram of fossil fuellargely thanks to immense offshore wind turbines.
But even if the Scottish winds are remarkably stable, wind turbines remains by definition an intermittent source of energy. The infrastructure must therefore be completed with devices capable of storing the excess energy to redistribute it during off -peak periods.
And this is precisely the raison d’être of this new site, strategically positioned near the huge offshore Viking wind farms (440 MW), Beatrice (588 MW) and especially Moray East (950 MW). With its capacity of 400 MWh, based on the technology of the Finnish company Wärtsilä, it alone increases the storage capacity of the country by more than 30%! And this is only the beginning. By 2026, Zenobē still wants to increase the capacity of the site to 300 mw / 600 mwh.
Real progress, despite an exaggerated claim
According to Interesting Engineeringthe company even says that after this expansion, Blackhillrock will be able to feed more than 3.1 million homes for two hours on its own. But even if it is undoubtedly an added value, there is something to be a little skeptical compared to these figures.
In Europe, it is generally considered that average housing requires (very) approximately 1KW of continuous power. However, it only takes a small division to realize that we are very far from the account. Based on the announced specifications, the site could only issueA hundred watts per home. It’s about ten times less than this famous reference kilowattand barely sufficient to operate a television during these two hours – not to mention other elements such as heating or lighting.
Despite this fortuitous decimal migration, it is still a great initiative that consolidates Scottish leadership in renewable energy. So let’s hope that other countries, including France, will follow suit as soon as possible.
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