Centrica to invest £180m in energy storage and gas plants

Centrica has confirmed plans to invest £180 million in flexible energy storage and gas-fired power plants. The announcement comes after the energy giant received 15-year agreements for more than 500MW […]

Centrica has confirmed plans to invest £180 million in flexible energy storage and gas-fired power plants.

The announcement comes after the energy giant received 15-year agreements for more than 500MW of capacity under the Capacity Market auction announced last week.

It will develop a 49MW battery storage facility in Cumbria which will be capable of holding enough power to meet the needs of around 50,000 homes. Centrica claims it will be able to respond to fluctuations in demand in under a second.

Two “fast response” 50MW gas-fired plants will also be built in North East Lincolnshire to generate power for approximately 100,000 homes within two minutes.

Another 370MW CCGT plant will also be developed in Norfolk.

Construction of the facilities, which have been designed to respond to peaks in demand, is set to start next spring.

Jorge Pikunic, Managing Director of Centrica’s Distributed Energy and Power business said: “We’re very pleased to be in a position to make these important investments in new flexible generation and battery storage, which will play a crucial role in securing power supplies and supporting network stability as more renewables come online.

“We believe there is also an opportunity for businesses and other large energy users to get involved, which is why we’re helping them unlock new revenue streams and make their sites more resilient by installing their own on site facilities or by optimising their existing energy assets.”

Drax, EDF Energy, E.ON, RWE, ScottishPower, SSE and Uniper are also among the applicants that have provisionally been awarded the capacity agreements.

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