The UK approved 2,869MW/5,998MWh of grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in May, adding to the existing 61,674MW/128,789MWh of approved capacity. This represents a 6% month-on-month increase.
Despite the approvals, no new BESS projects were commissioned in May, leaving the operational capacity unchanged at 6,424MW/9,160MWh.
Several major projects received approval, contributing significantly to the total. One notable project is Balance Power’s 29.9MW facility in Scotland.
Planning consent is crucial for projects navigating the UK's reformed grid connection process, designed to remove stalled projects and streamline the queue.
The 2,869MW/5,998MWh of grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) awarded planning consent by authorities in May brings the total approved capacity to 61,674MW/128,789MWh, up around 6% month-on-month.
However, no new projects were commissioned last month, leaving the UK’s operational capacity unchanged at 6,424MW/9,160MWh.
Major BESS projects that were approved in May include the:
Those four alone total around half of the total monthly figure, while there were smaller, single-digit planning consent wins for BESS projects including Balance Power’s 29.9MW project in Coylton, East Ayrshire.
Having planning consent will be one of the key criteria for projects in the current shake-up of the UK’s grid connection queue being undertaken by energy regulator Ofgem. The government expects the shake-up to unblock the grid connection queues by taking ‘zombie’ projects out of the queue, as reported by our sister site Current.
Read the previous two monthly instalments in the ESN Premium series of UK updates from our colleagues at Solar Media Market Research:
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