Next milestone on SSE’s first battery project to help unlock the UK´s path towards net zero

SSE has announced that its first 50MW battery storage project in Salisbury will be delivered by the technology group Wärtsilä.

Last year SSE announced it had purchased the project development rights for its first 50MW battery storage asset on a consented site in Wiltshire, from Harmony Energy Limited.

SSE is investing £7m a day into low carbon infrastructure as part of its £25bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme until 2030. The battery will be the first of SSE’s grid-scale solar and battery projects to support access to clean, reliable energy by balancing the intermittency of renewables.

The order was booked to Wärtsilä’s intake in March this year and the system is expected to become operational in September 2023.

"Today is a key milestone for SSE as we build out our first battery storage project at Salisbury, but it is also just the beginning of a multi-GW pipeline of solar and battery projects to come."

Richard Cave-Bigley SSE’s Director of Solar and Battery

Richard continued: “Battery storage has a key role to play in helping the UK to decarbonise by ensuring we make the most of the increasing levels of renewable energy coming onto the Grid. SSE is investing £25bn over this decade (circa £7m a day) in low carbon infrastructure of this kind and we are delighted to be working alongside Wärtsilä to provide the balancing and flexibility services we need to help the UK get to net zero.”

Kenneth Engblom, Vice President of Europe and Africa, Wärtsilä Energy said: “The UK can capitalise on its massive potential for renewable energy by building more of it right now, but energy storage must not be overlooked – effectively balancing the intermittency of renewables is the missing part of the net zero puzzle. If properly deployed, energy storage will enable the grid to deal with fluctuations in renewable energy supply and ensure that the end users of energy have secured power supply as we switch to cheaper, cleaner energy.

“This project is a big moment for us as we help one of the UK’s largest energy players scale up renewable energy and provide more British consumers with reliable, low-cost, and clean energy.”

The energy storage system will support the UK’s national grid with reliable services such as wholesale market trading, crucial for balancing renewable energy generation throughout the day. The UK’s energy storage pipeline has doubled within the past year, demonstrating the growing importance of energy flexibility as the UK scales up its renewable capacity.