Located on the outskirts of Hartlepool, in the North East of England, Field Hartmoor can store up to 800 MWh of electricity, which is enough to power 500 000 homes for four hours when fully charged. The project will deliver a range of services critical for an energy system increasingly built on renewable energy, such as balancing electricity supply and demand while providing frequency, inertia, and stability at a lower cost than other technologies delivering the same services.
Since securing planning consent for Hartmoor in 2023, Clearstone Energy has worked with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to bring forward the site’s energisation date from 2033 to 2026. This was achieved following reforms led by the system operator to speed up grid connections for ready and needed projects, and means the project will play a crucial role meeting the Government’s 2030 Clean Power target.
Renewable generation in the North East of England is set to increase rapidly by 2030, with 3.6 GW of offshore wind from the Dogger Bank project connecting to the grid between 2025 – 2028. Field Hartmoor will enable this clean energy to be deployed more consistently, rather than suffering from curtailment due to grid inflexibility or network constraints. Recent analysis by Field suggested this problem, whereby wind farms are powered down and gas plants fired up at short notice, could cost billpayers £3 billion by 2030 without network expansion and sufficient storage being brought on to the grid.
Amit Gudka, CEO of Field, said: “Transmission-connected battery storage sites like Field Hartmoor can reduce constraint costs, provide stability and reactive power services at a lower cost to bill payers than any other technology. These services are essential for the National Energy System Operator if we want to achieve the Government’s Clean Power 2030 target.
“Significantly increasing renewable energy capacity is an important part of delivering the energy transition, but cannot be done in a low cost and stable way unless energy storage capacity grows with it. This is why Field is calling on the Government, Ofgem, and National Energy System Operator to continue working together to accelerate the deployment and enable greater use of battery storage, in order to achieve a net-zero energy system.”
Ben Pratt, Founder of Clearstone Energy, added: “Increasing UK electricity network flexibility through battery energy storage capacity is critical to delivering on the Government’s ambitious Clean Power 2030 goal. The Energy System Operator’s efforts to work with us to accelerate the project's grid connection date is testament to its commitment to enabling the rapid build out of UK battery storage. Field has a compelling vision for the future of the UK energy system and we’re delighted that they will take the project through construction and into operations.”
Field has three operational battery storage projects at Oldham (20 MW/20 MWh), Gerrards Cross (20 MW/20 MWh) and Newport (20 MW/40 MWh), with seven more in construction or pre-construction stages totalling 450 MW/1 GWh.
JLL’s Energy and Infrastructure Advisory team acted as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Clearstone Energy, bringing JLL’s cumulative battery storage transactions to over 7 GW across 48 deals. Mischon De Reya acted as Clearstone Energy’s Legal Advisor.
