SSE’s first battery energy storage system (BESS) project at Salisbury in Wiltshire is now fully operational. The 50MW/100MWh BESS project is now trading in the wholesale energy market following the completion last week of final energisation tests at the site.

Construction of the 26-battery unit project began on a site next to the old Quidhampton Quarry at Salisbury in 2022 in conjunction with project partners, technology group Wärtsilä. Now operational, the BESS asset is capable of storing up to 100MWh of energy for flexible dispatch when needed to the National Grid. When called upon, the system can operate for up to two hours at a time at times of peak demand.

Salisbury BESS is now SSE Renewables’ flagship operational battery site and will make an important contribution to the delivery of SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme, a fully funded five-year investment plan which will see SSE Renewables investing over £7bn to 2027 to deliver the low carbon infrastructure that will support the transition to net-zero, including new battery storage technology.

In addition to Salisbury, SSE Renewables is currently constructing a 150MW battery project in Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, which is due to complete in the first half of next year, and a 320MW battery project in Monk Fryston, North Yorkshire, which will be able to deliver flexible energy at scale once completed in up to two years’ time.

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