The Monk Fryston Project is a 320MW / 640MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) being developed in the northern Yorkshire in the UK.
SSE Renewables is the developer and the owner of the project. SSE Renewables is a renewable energy subsidiary of SSE headquartered in Perth, UK.
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The owner will develop the project with the support of Morrison Energy Services and Sungrow Power Supply.
SSE Renewables took the Final Investment Decision of Monk Fryston in November 2023.
The construction of the project commenced in the spring of 2024. It will be followed by the commencement of commercial operations in late 2025.
Once operational, the BESS project will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. It will supply renewable power to approximately 533,000 homes of the UK for up to two hours at a time.
Monk Fryston BESS Location
The project will be located on the greenfield site in the Selby district of North Yorkshire.
The site of the project is located adjacent to the Monk Fryston Substation of the UK National Grid and less than 2km from Junction 42 of A1(M).
A1(M) is the upgraded series of four motorway sections of A1 in the UK. Constructed in 1961, A1 is a 39km major north-south road connecting London and Edinburgh.
Monk Fryston BESS Details
The Monk Fryston Battery Energy Storage Project will consist of storage energy systems, power infrastructure, and their connections.
Monk Fryston will be equipped with PowerTitan battery energy storage systems. The PowerTitan system of Sungrow is a liquid cooling energy system.
The system is cost-effective, safe, reliable, efficient, and flexible in capabilities. PowerTitan is the world’s first three-in-one integration technology.
The battery systems will be directly connected to the existing transmission network. It will also store power to release it back to the grid.
Power Infrastructure
The power infrastructure will be divided into existing and new infrastructure. The existing facilities will be upgraded, and the new facilities will be constructed.
The existing 275kV Poppleton to Monk Fryston (XC/XCP) overhead line will be upgraded. A section of the existing 400kV Eggborough to Monk Fryston overhead line connecting the new substation will be reconfigured and approximately 350m of the line will be dismantled.
A new 400/275kV Monk Fryston Substation will be built to manage power transmission on the existing 275kV Poppleton to Monk Fryston (XC/XCP) overhead line.
The substation will cover approximately 8 hectares (ha). It will be connected to the overhead line circuits via approximately 600m of underground cables.
Contractors Involved
In May 2024, SSE Renewables awarded a contract to Morrison Energy Services for the development of the Monk Fryston Battery Energy Storage Project.
Morrison Energy will be the principal contractor for the balance of plant works for the project.
SSE Renewables finalised the contract with Morrison in November 2023. The contract will be valid for three years.
Under the scope of the contract, Morrison will oversee and manage the design, installation, and commissioning of the project.
The scope of the contract also includes the design and procurement of major pieces of equipment, including switchgear and transformers. The project will be connected to the National Grid Substation by Morrison.
Morrison and Soil Science conducted a soil stabilisation program in the spring of 2024 to save resources and minimise the impact on the environment.
Both companies introduced their soil stabilisation technique under which the subsoil was transformed into a hard sustainable base.
After breaking down, the material can be reused for agriculture to reduce waste.
The PowerTitan energy storage system for the project will be supplied by Sungrow Power Supply. The contract was awarded to Sungrow by SSE Renewables in April 2024.
The preparation of a landscape mitigation strategy to reduce adverse landscape and visual impacts was done by Tir Collective, a UK-based landscape architectural company.
Tir provided various landscaping services for the project like implementation, management, expert witness, Accurate Visual Representations (AVRs), and landscape and visual assessment.
