NRG – Helping plug the hole in the British Energy Security Strategy

The British Energy Security Strategy launched in April 2022 has a gaping hole. Without a solution, the Governments plan for ‘Secure, clean and affordable British energy for the long term” will fail. New Renewables Group (“NRG”) have launched to help solve our electricity supply issues and provide balance to National Grid for the 50GW of new wind generation and the five-fold increase in solar quoted in the Energy Strategy.

The annual increase in energy bills is continuing to grow at a faster rate than ever before. With global issues, particularly in the East of Europe currently effecting energy supplies to the United Kingdom and inflation at record levels, something must be done. In April 2022 the UK Government produced a new ‘British Energy Security Strategy’ which talks about a five-fold increase in solar deployment by 2035 and an ambition to deliver up to 50GW of new wind generation by 2030.

While new renewable generation is absolutely the right thing to do, helps us toward our net zero targets and legally binding COP21/COP26 obligations it creates a whole new problem for National Grid in balancing supply and demand. This has a roll on effect on grid frequency, voltage, power spikes and brown outs right through to complete power blackouts when major supply / demand imbalance occurs.

NRG have partnered with tier one suppliers, leading planning and grid consultancy organisations and are working with DNOs to help solve the energy supply/demand imbalance. NRG will build a number of battery-based energy storage facilities across the South East of England to allow National Grid to balance increases in generation and consumer demand. Technologies will range from Lithium-ion batteries, Vanadium flow-battery to Sodium ion battery systems to provide instant response to grid requests to dispatch or receive electricity.

National Grid set an expectation in their ‘Future Energy Scenarios’ report that they will require around 13GW of energy storage in the UK grid by 2030 and up to 75GW by 2050. Current installed energy storage capacity is 1.7GW. If we are to keep the lights on for British homes, businesses and industry energy storage is critical. NRG aim to develop, own and operate up to one gigawatt hour of energy storage projects in the South East of the UK within the next decade.

New Renewables Group (“NRG”) are based in Essex and have a pipeline of energy storage projects ready to be developed across the South East of England.