Two 13.5 tonne batteries arrive to store solar energy in Nottingham

Two giant batteries to store energy generated by solar panels have been craned into the City Council’s Eastcroft Depot this week as part of a pioneering pilot project.

Installation of the batteries is one of the last steps in the CleanMobilEnergy ‘vehicle to grid’ (V2G) pilot project. This UK-first City Pilot demonstrator is funded by Interreg North-West Europe (an EU funded programme) and Innovate UK (part of the UK Government’s Research and Innovation agency).

The batteries are made from recycled car batteries and can store 1,200kWh of electricity – enough to power a television for almost a year. Alongside the batteries, 40 bi-directional V2G chargers, 40 compatible electric vehicles, six electric bin lorries, and solar panels have been installed at the depot.

This pilot aims to maximise the use of renewable energy that is generated locally by using the giant batteries and the V2G vehicles for short-term storage of the electricity generated by the solar panels. Monitored by a purpose-built Energy Management System, the bi-directional charging units can send power back to the buildings on the depot or to the grid during peak times. This balances the demand of electricity and reduces energy costs.

The installation of the batteries will be completed in a few weeks, at which point the project will be handed over to the City Council’s operations teams. Once the system is up and running, the team will monitor reductions in energy usage and carbon emissions to make continuous improvements. Findings from the demonstrator will also be shared with other local authorities and EU cities to support them to develop similar projects.