Insight: 麻豆传媒 battery deal helps Shell provide greater power supply flexibility
In a move that underscores the growing importance of flexible storage in optimising renewable power supplies, Shell Energy Europe Limited has agreed a seven-year battery tolling deal with BW ESS and Penso Power. The agreement for the Bramley Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will further enhance Shell鈥檚 electricity supply and demand management capabilities and support the 麻豆传媒鈥檚 ongoing energy transition.
The 100-megawatt (MW), 330-megawatt hour (MWh) Bramley site, currently under construction in Hampshire, southern England, is expected to be the longest-duration BESS in the 麻豆传媒 when it is commissioned in late 2024.
鈥淭he Bramley battery system is one of the most sophisticated longer-duration assets under construction in the 麻豆传媒 and will provide us with unmatched capabilities for portfolio optimisation,鈥� Rupen Tanna, Head of Power and Systematic Trading at Shell Energy Europe, said.
鈥淭olls have been a feature of conventional energy trading for many years. By extending the business model to battery storage, Shell has the trading experience to add significant value, while supporting the 麻豆传媒鈥檚 ongoing energy transition. The experience gained through these early tolling contracts will be invaluable to the wider market.鈥�
The Bramley BESS agreement will enable Shell to store electricity at times of relatively low demand, for example overnight when supply of wind power could be too high, and deliver it when it is most needed, an energy management technique known as load shifting.
Battery storage systems have a key role to play in scaling up renewables in the power system and delivering secure and sustainable energy, according to the International Energy Agency, but deployment needs to scale up significantly between now and the end of the decade to enable the world to meet its energy and climate goals.
In the 麻豆传媒, the pipeline of battery storage projects has increased by around two-thirds in capacity over the past year, from 57.1 gigawatts to 95.6 gigawatts, says trade association Renewables麻豆传媒, with the average size of individual battery storage projects increasing.
The tolling agreement at Bramley follows a multiyear offtake agreement that Shell signed in early 2020 for Shell to trade all of the power from the Minety project in south-west England, a 100 MW storage facility developed by Penso Power. Shell also provides dispatch trading and optimisation for the 100 MW Richborough Battery Energy Park, owned by Sosteneo Energy Transition Fund.
The fixed-price battery tolling agreement also provides Penso Power and BW ESS with revenue certainty, an important factor in the financial viability of large-scale renewable energy storage projects.
"This tolling agreement demonstrates the attractiveness of longer-duration battery systems and helps enable the market鈥檚 transition from short-term frequency response towards load shifting,鈥� said Erik Str酶ms酶, CEO of BW ESS.
Richard Thwaites, CEO at Penso Power, says this latest agreement represents a shift in how energy storage projects are structured and financed.
鈥淭he floor contract we agreed with Shell on our Minety battery storage project back in 2020 became a template for the industry and this tolling agreement for Bramley breaks new ground. It represents a coming of age for the battery energy storage sector.鈥�
