Ørsted has celebrated breaking ground for its first large-scale UK battery energy storage system (BESS).

Located alongside Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm, near Norwich, Norfolk, the system will have a capacity of 600 MWh (and a 300 MW power rating), equivalent to the daily power consumption of 80,000 UK homes.

A golden shovel ceremony officially kicked off the construction phase of the project, known as Iceni after the Norfolk-based warrior tribe of the Roman era. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

Preparatory works are now complete and the Ørsted, Knights Brown and Tesla Iceni team will continue with the remainder of the installation.

When completed, the battery energy storage system will be one of the largest in Europe.

Beatrice d’Eufemia, project manager, said: “This is a very exciting project to be a part of, not only for Ørsted as it is our first large-scale battery installation in the UK, but also for the UK energy industry as this project involves two generators using one shared grid connection.

“Success here, opens up the possibilities for increased use of existing grid infrastructure in the UK, which is critical when there is a real issue of congestion in the network.”

The battery energy storage system will also help make best use of the energy produced as when electricity generation exceeds demand, the battery will store the excess so that it can be discharged later to help balance the grid.