Specialist battery trader Habitat Energy has been appointed to operate one of the country’s largest battery sites, Arlington Energy’s 40MW Greenfield Road battery asset, currently under construction and due to be completed in October 2019.
The site will be trading in the day ahead, intraday and balancing mechanism markets as well as taking advantage of ancillary service contracts where attractive to do so.
Habitat will be providing optimisation services using its algorithmic trading platform ‘PowerIQ’, overseen by its team of asset optimisers, based in Oxford. Habitat Energy is providing full route to market for the asset, with the battery being registered as a BM unit.
A core part of Habitat’s service is actively managing the degradation of the battery, looking to extend the life of the battery cells beyond the warranty, and thus improving returns for the asset owner.
The appointment comes on the back of Habitat Energy’s 50MW Oxford battery project with Pivot Power due for completion next year, which will give it one of the biggest optimisation portfolios in the UK.
Habitat Energy co-founder, Andrew Luers, said, “We are excited to partner with Arlington Energy who, with the Greenfield battery and those to follow, are making big strides to enable a clean flexible UK energy system”.
Habitat’s algorithmic approach to battery optimisation and trading will ensure that the Greenfield battery is able to operate with the speed and flexibility that these assets are ideally suited for, and that the grid desperately needs.
The approach also ensures maximum returns are delivered to investors, therefore encouraging further investment in the UK energy grid of tomorrow.
Matt Clare, Director of Arlington, said, “Habitat Energy has an excellent reputation within the power sector and we are very pleased to have them working with us to deliver sustainable, clean energy to the national grid. The recent power outage, which affected more than a million UK homes and businesses, shows there is a real need for Arlington’s battery storage solution, which will kick in immediately to help, should this problem arise again. Arlington felt Habitat was the right choice to ensure we hit the returns we require whilst maintaining the health of the asset for the long-term. Arlington puts significant focus on building the highest quality assets, so it makes sense to partner with someone who truly understands how to extend their lifespan”.
