Zenobe Energy is partnering with United Utilities to bring the largest battery to the UK water industry - battery storage will be brought to the wastewater treatment plant in Preston, which serves 260,000 local homes and businesses.
Zenobe will be financing, installing and operating the batteries using its proprietary software from May - this will be the largest battery system in the UK water industry.
The company, currently the leading UK owner and operator of battery storage, will supply United Utilities with the largest battery in the UK water industry to date. The 2MW battery will connect to solar panels at Clifton Marsh wastewater treatment works in Preston, Lancashire, which serves 260,000 local homes and businesses. The site will be fully active by the end of May.
This the first time Zenobe’s capabilities will be been used in the UK water sector. It will provide a complete solution that uses its own market intelligence models and proprietary software to manage the batteries. This will optimise any excess onsite solar, trade in a range of electricity markets to support National Grid, provide power resilience and reduce carbon emissions, reducing costs for customers and save at least 6,700 tonnes of CO2 over the life of the 15 year contract.
The partnership comes at a time when the utilities sector in England has made a Public Interest Commitment pledge – to not only improve their service but also to tackle wider social and environmental challenges.
Steve Slavin, Head of Renewable Energy at United Utilities, said:
“Having an electricity storage facility on site is really useful. It means we can make the most of any available green energy. Not only is that good for the environment it’s good for our business too. Energy is one of a water company’s largest operational costs. By generating our own power, we can protect United Utilities from a volatile energy market, which will allow us predict our cost of treatment and stabilise bills for our customers.
“The batteries will also allow us to help the National Grid even out the peaks and troughs in power demand throughout the day. This is exactly the sort of innovation water companies need to be embracing if we are to meet the sector’s goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2030.”
Zenobe expects the ground-breaking solution to be rolled out across the water sector as part of the sector’s aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
James Basden, co-founder of Zenobe Energy, said:
“We’re proud that our end-to-end energy storage service is bringing significant environmental and financial benefits to customers and local communities.
“At a time when every industry must be looking for innovative solutions – like ours – that can facilitate the UK’s transition to net-zero, it’s fantastic to see United Utilities leading the way. We expect all water companies to use this type of solution to meet their commitments to customers and the environment."
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