Lakeside facility connects to grid and becomes UK’s largest transmission connected battery

• National Grid plugs TagEnergy’s 100MW battery project in at its Drax substation.
• Following energisation, the facility in North Yorkshire is the UK’s largest transmission connected battery energy storage system (BESS).
• The facility is supporting Britain’s clean energy transition, and helping to ensure secure operation of the electricity system.
  

A battery storage project developed by TagEnergy is now connected and energised on the electricity transmission network, following work by National Grid to plug the facility into its 132kV Drax substation in North Yorkshire.

Lakeside Energy Park’s 100MW/200MWh facility is now the largest transmission connected BESS project in the UK following energisation.

The new facility will boost the capacity and flexibility of the network, helping to balance the system by soaking up surplus clean electricity and discharging it back when the grid needs it.

To ensure a safe connection, National Grid, working with its contractor Omexom, upgraded its Drax 132kV substation to accommodate the additional clean power.

Works included extending the busbars – which enable power flows from generation source on to power lines – upgrading busbar protection and substation control systems, and installing an operational tripping scheme, all of which helps keep the network stable and operating securely.

Owned and operated by TagEnergy – with Tesla, Habitat Energy and RES as project partners – the newly-connected battery will help exploit the clean electricity potential of renewable projects in the region, storing and releasing green energy to power homes and businesses and also helping to relieve any system constraints.

National Grid’s adjacent Drax 400kV substation already hosts the connection for Drax power station – the UK’s largest biomass facility – and will also connect the Eastern Green Link 2 electrical superhighway when it starts importing clean energy from Scotland in 2029.

Mark Brindley, portfolio director for northern regions at National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), said: “Battery storage technologies play an essential part in delivering a net zero energy system in Britain, so connecting Lakeside BESS to our transmission network is a key moment in the pursuit of those clean energy targets.

“Our Drax substation originally connected a coal plant in the seventies, and is now playing an important role in the energy transition – connecting not only the country’s biggest battery, but also its largest biomass power plant. As the transition progresses, connecting a diverse mix of renewable technologies will be crucial in supporting the UK’s bold net zero ambitions.”

Franck Woitiez, chief executive officer at TagEnergy, said: “For a while, Lakeside will be the largest transmission connected BESS project in the UK and it is an important project that truly moves the needle for the energy transition.

“We’re proud to have delivered the project efficiently, energised and connected onto National Grid’s transmission network without significant delays or operating issues. That is exactly what is needed to speed the transition.

“We’re pleased to be working with our Lakeside project partners Habitat Energy, Tesla and RES to realise the full value of battery storage by connecting more people to more renewable power in our relentless pursuit of net zero.”

NGET delivered 3.4GW of connections to the transmission network during 2023/24 and is on course to connect a further 4.5GW of new projects in 2024/25.