Portable Battery Generators – Your Renewables Storage Solution
Date: 14/01/25
When it comes to renewable energy, such as wind or solar power, one of the issues that is raised most often is that of reliability. Renewable energy is plentiful and highly affordable when the sun is shining and the wind blows, but customers worry what will happen when it goes dark or still.
The answer is state of the art battery storage, such as the SiteGrid X45 portable battery generators. This versatile, flexible and highly portable hybrid unit will help you make the most of your renewable energy generation, with the reassuring back up of a diesel generator for times of low generation or peak demand.
A national solution
The same principle of storing renewable energy in battery installations not only works on a local level, but also nationwide too. Work has just begun on phase two of a battery energy storage system (BESS), or ‘battery farm’ as they are often called, in South Lanarkshire.
The new Coalburn 2 site is ironically being built on an old coal mine that once supplied fossil fuels to the energy industry. It is due for completion by 2027 and will deliver an additional 500MW of storage. This will bring the total site capacity up to 1GW when combined with the existing Coalburn 1, which is due to come online later this year.
The same partnership, between Copenhagen Infrastructure Systems and Alcemi, has also recently had the go ahead for a second BESS site at Devilla near Fife, adding a further 500MW of storage to the system. Between them, the three sites will ultimately be able to power 4.5million homes for up to 2hours and save excess renewable energy from going to waste.
Working towards clean energy
The new battery energy storage system projects will help in the UK transition to a clean energy grid by 2030 and a zero-carbon economy by 2050, as Scottish First Minister, John Sweeney explains:
"By helping to supply reliable and secure power to our homes and businesses, well-located storage systems, such as batteries and pumped hydro storage, can move us closer to net zero and directly support the communities around them."
Alcemi CEO, Mark Williams agrees:
“We look forward to continuing to work with our partners on projects such as this, that enable the UK to transition from its dependence on fossil fuels to clean energy”.
Why is battery storage needed?
Whether it’s a large scale ‘battery farm’, a local link up of up to ten SiteGrid X45 portable battery generators for high power output, or just a single SiteGrid X45 portable battery generator for a specific project, storage is key to the success of renewable energy.
On a national scale, battery storage is needed to maximise the availability of renewable energy in all weather conditions. This not only means providing for times when renewable energy production is low, but also avoiding waste at times when production is high. In its first month of operation, 60% of the renewable energy produced by the Viking Wind Farm in Shetland went to waste due to overcapacity.
On a local scale, advanced battery storage, using SiteGrid X45 portable battery generators can store renewable energy to support peaks of demand, with 45kWH of storage delivering peak power up to 90kVA. This makes SiteGrid X45 portable battery generators ideal for festivals and winter events, allowing solar energy to be used at night. It is also ideal for remote sites without grid connections, temporary sites such as road and rail repairs, and rapidly changing sites where permanent wiring is not worthwhile.
To learn more about Think Hire battery storage solutions, including SiteGrid X45 portable battery generators and compact SiteGrid X3 portable battery generators, get in touch today.
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