Orsted and Tesla plan massive battery to store power from one of world's largest offshore wind farms

Battery system will help balance swings in power generation from Hornsea 3

A Tesla Megapack battery.
A Tesla Megapack battery.Photo: Tesla

One of the world’s largest planned offshore wind farms, Orsted’s Hornsea 3 in the UK, will be backed up by one of Europe’s largest batteries, supplied by Elon Musk’s Tesla.

The 300MW/600MWh battery energy storage system will be installed next to the onshore converter station for the 2.4GW Hornsea 3 project near the city of Norwich on England’s east coast.

The battery system will store enough power to match the daily energy use of 80,000 UK homes, Danish renewables giant Orsted said in an announcement today.

“The battery will help ensure that renewable energy is used in the best possible way by storing it when demand is lower and then releasing it back into the system when it’s really needed,” said Duncan Clark, Head of Orsted UK & Ireland.

“This maximises the potential of renewable energy whilst providing increased energy security and value to consumers.”

Orsted has taken a final investment decision on the battery, which will be three times the size of another 99MW/198MWh Tesla battery system that was claimed to be the largest in Europe when it was turned on in the UK last year.
Orsted's Hornsea 3 converter station under construction.Photo: Orsted
Other batteries even larger than this latest Tesla storage facility are however in the pipeline in the UK.
A recent report found that the UK could save £24bn ($31bn) by 2050 if it powers ahead with a rollout of long-duration energy storage technology. The pipeline of energy storage projects in the UK has jumped by two-thirds over the last year.
Orsted took a final investment decision to build the £8bn Hornsea 3 in December at the end of a year where question marks had been raised as to its financial viability.

Orsted said Hornsea 3, which it billed as the world’s single largest offshore wind farm, will make a major contribution to the UK’s ambition to get 50GW in the water by 2030.

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Published 12 June 2024, 05:02Updated 12 June 2024, 13:54
TeslaElon MuskOrstedUSUK