Having affirmed themselves as significant player in the clean energy game through its support for myriad renewable energy sources, it has transpired that the UK will be host to the biggest renewable energy storage experiment in Europe. It is due to the UK’s consistent progress towards relying on sustainable power that they have been selected to host this experiment. There will be three companies involved in the experiment: S&C Electric Europe, Samsung SDI and Younicos.
As was previously mentioned, the UK has been a major player in the green energy market and the country have regularly made the headlines thanks to numerous projects taking place around the country. Most often these projects focus on the production of electricity from renewable resources; such as sunlight, wind and hydrogen. The problem comes when the electrical power generated from these sources need to be stored. Countries that are finding they are becoming more reliant on the renewable energy sources. The energy grids that were established for our current sources of electricity are not designed to take the electrical power that’s generated by things such as solar panels, wind turbines and fuel cells. This means that the systems lose most of the electricity that is fed into the existing grid.
Designed to test a new kind of battery, the UK government has injected more than $13 million into the scheme. The experiment will use a 6 megawatt battery that is designed to store energy over a long period of time and utilises the lithium manganese technology. The energy set to be stored in this battery will predominantly come from wind turbines and solar panels that are already working in the UK to produce energy. The UK have selected Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire for the battery to be installed because it has an infrastructure that can provide the necessary support.
One of the companies participating in this experiment, S&C Electric Europe, have spoken out about the possibilities that a comprehensive energy storage solution. Including it being a significant move towards a carbon neutral future for Europe as well as the UK, by relaxing the pressure on fossil-fuels and allowing countries to gradually reduce their use of coal and oil. It is likely that the results will be gathered in 2016. This could help pave the way for those homes trying to make savings through renewable energy sources and new developers focused on creating eco-friendly and cost efficient homes for the future which will outlive gas, coal and non-renewables. A definite step in the right direction.