Plans approved for world’s largest battery storage scheme in Manchester

A CGI imagining of the BESS facility. Image: Carlton Power

Carlton Power has secured planning permissions for the 1GW battery energy storage scheme (BESS) from Trafford Council.

The 1040MW project, with a production output of 2080MWh, will be located at the Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park in Greater Manchester. The £750m project will strengthen energy security in the region and dwarfs the current largest BESS in the world – the 400MW Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.

Carlton Power’s founder Keith Clarke said: “Carlton Power acquired the former coal-fired power station in 2008 to redevelop the site for new energy projects. With the approval of the BESS, this brings the total investment value of the site to £2bn, which will deliver significant economic benefits to the Greater Manchester region and help to deliver the regional net-zero targets.

“The investment in the Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park over the next 2-5 years demonstrates Carlton’s long-term vision and commitment to re-energising the Trafford site.”

The 1GW BESS will be Carlton Power’s second major project for the Low Carbon  Energy Park. The company is also working on a 200MW green hydrogen facility, which is also expected to come online in 2025.

The company unveiled plans for the green hydrogen scheme in 2021, outlining how the production facility could be created on land owned by the business at its existing power station site. The facility would include an electrolyser powered by renewable electricity, gas compressors, hydrogen storage facilities and tanker loading facilities.

The Energy Park will also be home to the world’s first commercial liquid air storage system. Highview Power Storage is developing the £250m, 250MWh long duration, cryogenic energy storage system at the Park, which is located on the site of the former Carrington coal-fired power station.

Councillor Tom Ross, the leader of Trafford Council and Green City-Region lead for Greater Manchester, said: “The Trafford BESS, alongside the Trafford Green Hydrogen scheme, places Trafford and Greater Manchester at the forefront of the UK’s energy transition.

“The two schemes will help address our climate crisis – one of Trafford Council’s corporate priorities – and will support our region’s plan to reach a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2038.  I applaud Carlton Power’s long-term vision in developing the Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park.”

Earlier this year, Carlton Power celebrated that its green hydrogen project near Barrow-in-Furness was successful in securing a place on the UK Government’s Hydrogen Business Model Strategy Shortlist.

The project is seeking to co-locate 35MW of electrolyser facilities and a 40MW energy storage system at the Cumberhead West Wind Farm. The 126MW wind farm is currently under construction and completion is expected later this year. Green hydrogen production should then be able to commence in 2025.

Kimberly-Clark is planning to offtake green hydrogen from the project to serve its paper mill in Cumbria, replacing natural gas. Until the hydrogen production begins, Kimberly-Clark will offtake renewable electricity from the wind farm via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).  It will use this electricity at three manufacturing sites and two distribution centres across the UK.