Plessey and KiWi Power inaugurate energy-saving battery storage system at Plymouth facility

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Plessey has opened a 2MW behind the meter (BTM) battery storage solution, which is installed at its flagship manufacturing and R&D site in Plymouth, Devon.

The project was completed by KiWi Power, a provider of smart energy management services.

This project follows two other BTM battery storage systems in the UK built by KiWi Power. The company is said to be targeting an extensive roll-out of similar BTM projects for high energy users particularly in the commercial and industrial sectors.

Mike Snaith, Operations Director of Plessey Semiconductors, said: “We are pleased to be jointly-announcing one of the first BTM installations of this type in the UK. It is good to know our considerable power consumption can be utilised to help stabilise the National Grid supply by delivering a reliable and sustainable power source. Batteries are an increasingly necessary part of the decarbonisation of the UK’s electricity supply.”

The 2MW Tesla battery is controlled by KiWi Power’s proprietary hardware and software platform called KiWi Fruit.

The battery power will earn revenue by fulfilling a frequency response balancing contract with National Grid and help to reduce energy costs for Plessey by providing optimal peak-shaving of power supply in response to fluctuations in demand. Amber Infrastructure provided funding for the project.

Tom O’Shaughnessy, Amber Infrastructure, said: "BTM battery technology makes huge sense for large energy users. As part of our strategy for the creation of pathfinding sustainable energy projects we hope the BTM battery at Plessey will encourage further development of BTM projects increasing the flexibility of the electricity network.”