Centrica, an international energy corporation, has acquired development rights to a battery farm in Perthshire, Scotland. Through its subsidiary Centrica Business Solutions, Centrica, the parent company of British Gas in the UK and Bord Gais in Ireland, acquired the development rights to the battery storage facility. The plant’s capacity will be 65 MW. It is the company’s largest battery storage project to yet. The plant’s 65MW will be able to power up to 130,000 homes for an hour. By discharging during times of high demand and charging during times of low demand, Centrica aims to use the facility to manage grid capacity.
The plant is part of Centrica’s plan to create 1 GW of “low-carbon energy assets”, including a similar 30 MW battery plant in Aberdeenshire set to begin operation in 2024. The company also announced its first battery storage project outside the UK with an upcoming 24 MW project in Belgium. The facility in Ostend, announced in May 2023, has a similar aim to the Perthshire project, balancing out scarcity and excess in energy demand with renewable energy.
In March 2023, Lhyfe and Centrica agreed to jointly develop offshore renewable green hydrogen in the UK in a first for the country. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding that could accelerate green hydrogen as part of the energy transition in the UK. Under the agreement, Lhyfe and Centrica would combine their expertise to collaborate on a pilot green hydrogen production site in the Southern North Sea.
