CBI member, Shell has announced that it has agreed a multi-year, power offtake deal with two Chinese state-owned enterprises invested in two 50MW batteries located in the town of Minety in Wiltshire. Shell plans to use the batteries to provide back-up power to the national grid.
The energy facility in Minety comprises of two 50MW batteries and is being developed by CNIC – China’s sovereign wealth fund – and state utility firm, China Huaneng Group. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. The Minety project will be built using more than 80% China-made equipment, China Huaneng said, when it announced the start of construction on the project at the end of December.
David Wells, Shell Energy Europe, vice president, said: “"Projects like this will be vital for balancing the UK's electricity demand and supply as wind and solar power play bigger roles in powering our lives. […] Batteries are uniquely suited to optimising power supplies as the UK moves towards a net-zero carbon system."
Power from the project, designed to balance intermittent wind and solar output on the UK grid, will be traded by Shell’s specialist Limejump subsidiary, which is claimed to manage the largest network of batteries in the UK. The deal marks the latest inroad into the power sector by Shell, whose interests in renewables and clean energy now include major solar developments, offshore wind project stakes, the floating wind pioneer Eolfi and Tesla’s rival in the battery storage space, Sonnen.
To read the press release in full, please follow the link.
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