John Glen MP tours SSE Renewables' first 50MW battery storage site at Salisbury

John Glen MP hails contribution of battery storage as a net zero enabler during tour of SSE Renewables 50MW project in his Salisbury constituency

​John Glen, Member of Parliament for Salisbury and South Wiltshire, praised the contribution of battery storage as a key enabler of the UK’s net zero energy transition during a site tour of the technology in his constituency.

Mr Glen, who was also recently appointed Paymaster General in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, was welcomed by SSE Renewables to its nearly completed 50MW battery storage site next to the old Quidhampton Quarry at Salisbury in England.

SSE Renewables’s first battery storage site has 26 units which will start providing flexible power to the National Grid from February 2024. Battery storage is said to hold a key role in unlocking the path to net zero because of its ability to hold and release energy when most needed.

"Tackling climate change is the biggest challenge of our age. This government wants to decarbonise the UK power system by 2035 and battery storage is seen as a key enabler of that transition to net zero because of its flexibility. I enjoyed seeing first-hand how battery storage will work in my own constituency, and I commend SSE for their ongoing investment in low carbon technology."

John Glen MP for Salisbury and South Wiltshire

"We were delighted to welcome John Glen MP to our first battery site at Salisbury ahead of the project going fully live in February 2024. The flexibility of battery storage means we can help National Grid manage peak times of demand and back up renewable sources of energy such as wind. SSE Renewables is investing £4m a day on average to 2027 in low carbon technologies that will enable net zero."

Richard Cave-Bigley SSE Renewables Director of Solar and Battery

Batteries work by storing energy when output from natural sources such as wind is high and releasing it when wind output is low but demand for energy is high. They are fast responding and will play an increasingly important role in our energy mix as more carbon-based generation is phased out and further replaced by more renewables.

SSE Renewables is currently developing three battery storage projects in the UK. In addition to its 50MW site in Salisbury, SSE Renewables is constructing a 320MW battery project in Monk Fryston, North Yorkshire and a 150MW battery project in Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire.

SSE Renewables now has 550MW of solar and battery projects in construction in the UK as part of an overall 3GW pipeline of solar and battery projects across the UK, Ireland and northern Europe.