Environment Minister, George Eustice, has visited the Wave Hub site in Hayle, where Centrica has begun work on a new battery storage unit that will form the latest element of its Cornwall Local Energy Market.
Centrica Business Solutions has designed the 1MW battery to provide energy resilience to the Cornwall Council-owned Wave Hub site and the local grid. It will be one of Cornwall’s largest batteries once complete.
Eustice, who is also the MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, said: “This Conservative Government has committed to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, and it will need innovation, collaboration, and action to get there.
“This partnership between Centrica and Cornwall Council at Wave Hub is a great example of how the private and public sectors can work together to help tackle climate change.”
Charles Cameron, group technology & engineering director for Centrica, added: “Ultimately the Cornwall Local Energy Market project is about developing the integrated technology solutions needed for a fully decarbonised electricity system.
“We are working with businesses across the county to deliver solutions which help them to both decarbonise and benefit from the opportunities of a changing energy market.”
Steve Jermy, executive chair at Wave Hub Ltd, said: “We’re delighted with this project, not only because of the use for Wave Hub’s grid connection, but also because of the opportunity to begin exploring how flexibility markets, such as the Cornwall LEM, might integrate with the first, floating offshore wind turbines at the Wave Hub site and, in the longer term, large floating offshore wind projects that we are seeking to develop in the Celtic Sea.”
Wave Hub Limited, which is solely owned by Cornwall Council, will own the battery storage system once in place, with Centrica responsible for the funding, construction and operation.
