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Ørsted Completes Construction of 600 MWh UK Battery Storage Project
Ørsted has completed construction of its first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the United Kingdom. The Iceni BESS project, with a capacity of 300 MW and 600 MWh, utilizes 170 Tesla Megapacks and is located near the onshore converter station of the Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm. This project is anticipated to become one of Europe's largest BESS systems.
Ørsted, a leading global developer in offshore wind energy, has successfully completed the construction of its inaugural large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the United Kingdom. This project, known as Iceni BESS, is situated near Norwich in Norfolk, England, and boasts a substantial capacity of 300 MW and 600 MWh. Construction commenced on March 5, 2025, leading to the large-scale completion in approximately one and a half years.
The storage facility is strategically located adjacent to the onshore converter station for Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm. For this significant undertaking, 170 Tesla Megapacks have been installed on site. Upon becoming fully operational, the Iceni BESS is anticipated to be one of the largest BESS projects across Europe. While the precise variant of the Megapacks was not explicitly detailed, site photographs provided by Ørsted indicate the deployment of Tesla Megapack 2XL units.
Beatrice d’Eufemia, project manager for Iceni BESS at Ørsted, highlighted this as a significant milestone for the company. Following the construction completion, the project is now progressing into its final stages of mechanical and electrical installation. The installation and termination of cross-site cables are currently underway, and the initial phases of commissioning and testing activities have begun. Concurrently, preparations are being made to energize the project’s transformer.
The developer elaborated on the technical intricacies of the project, particularly its split layout across the Norfolk site. This design incorporates two distinct areas separated by the Hornsea 3 Onshore Converter station. These sections are interconnected by 18 x 33 kV cables, each extending over 600 meters. The shared grid connection point with the Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm, as opposed to a standalone connection, presented specific engineering considerations.
In addition to Ørsted and Tesla, other companies involved in the realization of the Iceni BESS include Hitachi Energy and Knights Brown. Earlier this year, Ørsted also achieved commercial operations for its 250 MW / 500 MWh Old 300 Storage project in Needville, Texas, which is co-located with a 430 MW solar project in the United States.
Source: ESS News
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