Spain’s FRV, part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, and the UK-based Harmony Energy have switched on a battery energy storage system (BESS). They claim that it is Europe’s largest BESS to date.

Work began in September 2021 on the Clay Tye site in Essex, England. It has a total capacity of 99 MW/198 MWh – enough power to supply energy to more than 300,000 UK homes for a period of two hours.

The facility features 52 Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries that are connected to the UK Power Networks distribution network, allowing the batteries to store energy from renewable sources and provide on-peak flexibility to the UK national grid.

“[The site] will contribute to future energy security, make energy bills more affordable, while supporting the decarbonisation of the grid,” said Harmony Energy CEO Peter Kavanagh.

The Clay Tye facility follows two other BESS projects that FRV and Harmony Energy have completed in the United Kingdom – the 34 MW/68 MWh Contego project and the 7.5 MW/15 MWh Holes Bay installation.

FRV and Harmony Energy say their joint projects support the United Kingdom’s energy security goals and efforts to decarbonize. According to the UK government’s net zero initiative, England, Scotland, and Wales aim to decarbonize their electricity systems by 2035. Northern Ireland wants 80% of its electricity supply to be renewable by 2030.

In November 2022, Harmony Energy switched on a 98 MW/196 MWh storage system near Hull, East Yorkshire, in collaboration with Tesla.

Earlier this month, NatPower UK said it plans to invest more than GBP 10 billion ($12.7 billion) in the United Kingdom’s green energy market, including the nationwide deployment of battery energy storage projects.