What is BESS?
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) comprise energy storage units that are of a similar size to a standard shipping container.
The Orchard BESS site’s planning stage design is based on Sungrow equipment.
Image shows example of Sungrow BESS equipment.
Source: Sungrow’s website sungrowpower.com.
How do BESS support the UK’s energy network?
Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1), January 2024. EN-1 provides planning guidance for developers of nationally significant energy infrastructure projects. It explains different types of electricity infrastructure are needed to deliver national energy objectives.
EN-1 explains electricity storage is needed to:
- Integrate high volumes of low carbon power, heat, and transport
- Reduce the costs of the electricity system
- Increase reliability by storing surplus energy in times of low demand to provide electricity when demand is higher
- Provide various services locally and nationally
- Maximise usable output from intermittent renewables
- Reduce the total amount of generation capacity needed on the system
- Provide a range of balancing services to the NESO and DNOs to help operate the system
- Reduce constraints on the network
- Help defer or avoid the need for costly network upgrades as demand increases.