A £25m facility in Liverpool that will increase the volume of renewable energy being used in Merseyside is in the final stages of construction. Tony McDonough reports
Work on a £25m ‘green power grid’ in a Liverpool suburb is close to completion.
Main contractor NRS Group started work on the Greener Grid Park off Lister Drive in Tuebrook in 2021. It has now finalised all major construction work at the site, with the final concrete being poured at the start of April.
When it becomes operational this year the facility will be operated by Norwegian renewables specialist Statkraft. It is one of several Statkraft schemes that is helping to remove fossil fuels from the UK’s energy supply, replacing it with power from renewable sources.
Lister Drive Greener Grid Park will provide a zero emissions alternative to grid stability which at the moment is mainly provided from fossil-fuel powered generators. The scheme is one of several projects across the country helping to remove fossil fuels from the UK’s energy supply.
Utilising technology from Warrington-based ABB, the site will mimic the spinning turbines of a traditional power station, providing the high inertia that grid operators rely on to maintain grid stability.
As power from renewable sources such as wind and solar is fed into the structure, a 67 megavolt amps reactive synchronous condenser, coupled with a 40-tonne flywheel, provide the inertia required to ensure the network frequency and voltage are held stable.
To ensure round-the-clock support, Statkraft has also signed a 10-year services contract with ABB, where ABB’s UK field service team will provide the full range of operational and maintenance services.
The site is expected to be operational in autumn 2022. Guy Nicholson, head of grid Integration at Statkraft UK, said: “Statkraft has invested more than £1.4bn in the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure since 2006.
READ MORE: £43m to decarbonise city region homes
“The Lister Drive Greener Grid Park will not only create more opportunities for the city to use green energy but will also contribute to the local economy through jobs and suppliers.”
Planning permission for the Lister Drive Greener Grid Park was initially granted by Liverpool City Council in 2020 after National Grid ESO, the operator of the GB electricity grid, identified a need for additional stability services to the Liverpool grid.