BayWa r.e. gets approval for 3-hour UK BESS
BayWa r.e. developing 3-hour UK BESS for 2026 COD
Renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. has been given the green light to develop and build a 3-hour duration battery energy storage system (BESS) in the UK, set to come online in 2026.
The 57MW/171MWh BESS facility, dubbed Meadow Farm, will be located in Northeast England on land southeast of The Carss Angling Lakes, Letch Lane, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. It is being developed in partnership with Grüne Energien Projekt UG and received planning permission recently.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Should this project be pursued, the BESS system will be located on 5.72 hectares of land and will help stabilise the local electricity system by providing flexibility and supporting the wider deployment of renewable generation onto the grid.
Its discharge duration of three hours is notable as most projects in the UK are currently being deployed with a duration of two hours.
Energisation for the BESS is anticipated for late 2026, BayWa r.e. said, and this is expected to be one of the company’s “biggest” in Europe. You can find an image of the site below:
As seen in the image above, the BESS will be located next to Anesco’s High Meadow 2 solar farm, which has a generation capacity of 10MW. Construction of the solar farm started in April 2022.
John Milligan, managing director at BayWa r.e. UK., said: “BESS facilities like Meadow Farm allow flexibility within the national electricity transmission, complementing renewable energy generation profiles. Having successfully secured planning approval for our first stand-alone BESS project in the UK reflects our ongoing dedication and growth in delivering innovative projects.”
See the full version of this article on Solar Power Portal.