The UK's National Grid Electricity System Operator could need to contract up to 1.4 GW of low frequency dynamic containment for certain months this year, the ESO said in a Jan. 27 report.
Dynamic containment fees are proving to be a shot in the arm for the UK's battery storage sector.
The new product, rolled out by National Grid in October last year, pays providers for the sub-one second response needed to support system frequency in the event of a large loss on the system.
"The first few months of dynamic containment delivery have been a success and the ESO is now able to share future DC requirements," it said in its latest frequency response report Jan. 28.
The report shows expected maximum low frequency DC requirements per month of 1.4 GW in May, June, August and September.
For January the maximum was put at 600 MW-800 MW. No other month this year was expected to have less than an 800 MW requirement.
The capacities "are assumed to be available 24/7, procured daily and will allow the ESO to secure large losses on a low inertia system without the need to take more expensive alternative actions," National Grid ESO said.
In the latest daily auction for delivery Jan. 29, some 396 MW of battery storage capacity were contracted, National Grid data showed.
Asset owners successful in the tender included Habitat Energy, Flexitricity, Tesla Motors, Arenko, Zenobe Energy, EDF Energy, and UK Power Reserve.
Looking to 2022 and beyond, the ESO said the risk of future large losses "are likely to increase DC requirements."
This was because of the threat of single, unscheduled outages posed by very large assets due to be connected, including the NSL interconnector to Norway (1.4 GW, scheduled to connect Dec. 2021) and the Viking Link interconnector to Denmark (1.4 GW, 2023).
Also of concern on this front was growing combined generation capacity in the Dumfries & Galloway and Ayrshire loss group (1.8 GW); Hinkley Point C (Unit 1, 1.6 GW); and the first of several large offshore wind farms, namely the 1.4 GW Hornsea Two plant.
