Zenobe Energy and United Utilities announce ‘groundbreaking’ battery partnership

Battery storage firm Zenobe Energy has announced a ‘groundbreaking’ partnership with United Utilities to supply a 2MW battery that will help power a wastewater works in Preston.

The battery will connect to solar panels at Clifton Marsh wastewater treatment works which serves 260,000 local homes and businesses in Lancashire. The site will be fully active by the end of May.

It’s Zenobe’s first move into the UK water sector and the batteries will optimise any excess onsite solar, trade in a range of electricity markets to support National Grid, provide power resilience and reduce carbon emissions, reducing costs for customers and save at least 6,700 tonnes of CO2 over the life of the 15-year contract.

The utility sector in England recently made a Public Interest Commitment pledge, to not only improve their service but also to tackle wider social and environmental challenges.

Steve Slavin, head of renewable energy at United Utilities, said: ‘Having an electricity storage facility on site is really useful. It means we can make the most of any available green energy. Not only is that good for the environment it’s good for our business too. Energy is one of a water company’s largest operational costs.

‘By generating our own power, we can protect United Utilities from a volatile energy market, which will allow us predict our cost of treatment and stabilise bills for our customers.

‘The batteries will also allow us to help the National Grid even out the peaks and troughs in power demand throughout the day.  This is exactly the sort of innovation water companies need to be embracing if we are to meet the sector’s goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2030.’

James Basden, co-founder of Zenobe Energy, added: ‘At a time when every industry must be looking for innovative solutions – like ours – that can facilitate the UK’s transition to net-zero, it’s fantastic to see United Utilities leading the way.

‘We expect all water companies to use this type of solution to meet their commitments to customers and the environment.’