Statkraft has officially started construction on its Greener Grid Park, which aims to improve grid stability on the electricity grid in Wales.
Welsh Prime Minister Eulned Morgan attended the project’s official groundbreaking ceremony near Swansea, along with Statkraft officials and Norway’s ambassador to Britain, Tore Hattrem.
The Greener Grid Park will use six rotating stabilizers to mimic the turbines of a traditional power station, allowing the generator to keep electricity flowing to homes and businesses in Wales during grid disruptions and stabilize grid frequencies without using fossil fuels like many other supporting power stations of this nature. .
Statkraft was awarded a stability contract by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) (under the organization’s previous name and brand) in 2022 as part of phase three of its Stability Pathfinder program. NESO says the contacts awarded under the scheme will lead to £14.9 billion in savings for the network between 2025 and 2035. Swansea Greener Grid Park will be the third scheme to use rotating stabilizers to achieve grid stability, with the first two schemes already active by 2025: Moray, Scotland and Lister Drive in Liverpool. According to Statkraft, these two schemes already save 216,000 tons of CO2 per year.
At the end of November, Statkraft received 620 battery units for its 200 MW Thornton Greener Grid Park. Located in East Yorkshire, the project will store energy generated at Statkraft’s nearby 49.9 MW Soay Solar Farm project and is expected to come online in autumn 2025.
Statkraft is becoming increasingly involved in the flexibility and stability markets in Great Britain. Distribution network operator (DNO) SP Energy Networks announced this last month Statkraft’s 49MW Rheidol hydropower program played an important role in keeping the electricity supply running during maintenance work on the grid. SP Energy Networks paid Statkraft an availability fee for each day the hydropower plant was on standby, with an additional fee if the plant needed to be used. This kept disruption to the network to a minimum.
Eluned Morgan MS, First Minister of Wales, said: “Wales’ electricity needs could triple by 2050, so it is important that infrastructure such as Statkraft’s Greener Grid Park in Swansea is in place to support the electricity grid and ensure it can cope with increasing demand in the region. the most efficient and environmentally friendly way. Such arrangements are important to ensure we are ready to continue the transition to more renewable energy, delivering on one of my green growth priorities.”
Richard Mardon, head of Statkraft’s UK development department, added: “Swansea Greener Grid Park is a standout example of how Wales can serve as a beacon of green energy innovation, delivering homegrown solutions that benefit Welsh communities. and at the same time strengthen the country’s broader energy supply. security.”
