A £25m facility in Liverpool that will maximise the volume of renewable energy for the National Grid will be fully operational in the autumn. Tony McDonough reports
A £25m electrical grid facility in Liverpool that will replace fossil fuels in the UK’s energy network with renewable power is set for an autumn switch-on.
Main contractor NRS Group began construction of the Lister Drive Greener Grid Park for Norwegian renewable energy business Statkraft in May last year. Located off Carnegie Road in Tuebrook, the plant will help the UK meet its net zero carbon targets.
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.
This week the director-general of the CBI, Tony Danker, visited the site and gave it his seal of approval. He said: “This project is of significant strategic importance to the decarbonisation of the country, acting as the fulcrum between the power created by renewables and the demands of homes and businesses.
“I’ve been left hugely impressed by both the scale of what I have seen at the Lister Drive site, and with the technological and engineering expertise that has been vital in its creation.”
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Renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar power, can provide only “intermittent” energy as they are dependent on weather conditions. This facility will help to store energy for then it is needed to fill gaps in demand.
Guy Nicholson, head of grid integration UK at Statkraft, added: “Finding ways to stabilise the national grid without the use of fossil fuels is integral to the UK’s ability to achieve its zero carbon ambitions.
“Utilising ABB’s technology, our Greener Grid Park will help provide a solution to this problem – maximising the amount of renewable energy being generated in Great Britain and distributed throughout Liverpool.”