United Kingdom – First large-scale battery storage project has been completed in order to speed up Scottish Water’s goal of net zero emissions by 2040.
Four vanadium flow batteries, manufactured by Invinity Energy Systems, have recently been installed at the waste water treatment works that serve the city of Perth. The batteries are capable of storing up to 0.8 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy and will be used to store power generated from more than 2,520 solar panels, with a combined output of over 1 megawatt (MW).
By enabling solar energy to be used at any time of the day or night, the battery system will allow around 94% of the renewable power generated to be used on site โ a significant step forward in the companyโs decarbonization ambitions.
Combining the use of battery storage and solar power will result in a carbon footprint reduction of 160 tonnes per year โ the equivalent of offsetting 580,000 miles from an average passenger car. The utility’s first rapid electric vehicle charging points have also been installed at the site, and the treatment works’ energy costs will be reduced by approximately 40 percent as a result of the new scheme.
Scottish battery assembly
Scottish Water Horizons, the commercial subsidiary of the public utility, has invested in this latest installation as part of a program to explore battery storage options across Scottish Water’s asset portfolio.
Invinity Energy Systems manufactured and assembled the utility-grade vanadium flow batteries in West Lothian, Scotland. An alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries that is safer, more durable, and more environmentally friendly is making a name for itself in the energy storage market.
Net zero carbon emissions will be achieved by 2040, with an interim target of three times the company’s annual electricity consumption by 2030. Most of the company’s water and wastewater treatment facilities are now either self-sufficient or at least partially self-sufficient in their power requirements.
