Battery storage programme helps UK manage evolving energy market

Serving as trusted Owner’s Engineer on UK battery programme

Black & Veatch provided Owner's Engineer services for a programme to construct and commission energy storage facilities in six UK locations.

Execution certainty was essential to ensure construction and commissioning was completed within the timescale set by the UK government’s Capacity Market programme. In an evolving energy market, the Capacity Market was introduced to ensure demand for electricity would continue to be met as conventional sources of power are replaced with more intermittent forms of renewable energy. Failure to meet the Capacity Market deadline would affect the profitability of the energy 120-MW storage programme.

The lithium-based battery systems each have a 20MWh capacity. The ability to draw upon our significant EPC contracting experience meant Black & Veatch was able to advise the client on matters above and beyond the technology application, including the wider design and constructability of the battery storage sites as well as, significantly, commissioning and acceptance.

Ultimately, the analysis performed by Black & Veatch provided the client with assurance that the installed system was constructed and tested in accordance with the contract requirements and could be operated to achieve maximum revenue potential.

In addition, Black & Veatch made a significant contribution to the review and development of the acceptance test plan and subsequent review of the test data, on behalf of the client, based on our battery storage technical and operational expertise in the UK.

Challenges addressed included ensuring components met required legislation; advising on commissioning plan enhancements to ensure compliance and performance met Capacity Market requirements. All of these steps to ensure execution certainty were possible as a result of the team being able to draw upon expertise in every element of the assets’ lifecycle.

Working with Black & Veatch provides the opportunity to utilize experience gained from over 20 years in the energy storage business. From utility- to small-scale energy storage projects, our services span the life cycle from planning and development to installation, grid integration and asset management for operations and maintenance.