Gridserve and UK Power Networks (UKPN) have connected a new battery energy storage system (BESS) to support EV charging at London Gatwick Airport.
Two 3.6MW batteries have been connected to UKPN’s distribution network. They were designed to supply EV chargers at the London Gatwick Electric Forecourt, located at the airport’s South Terminal.
The London Gatwick Electric Forecourt opened last year and has 30 EV charging bays to support EV charging for airport passengers, staff and taxi fleets. The newly installed batteries can power the whole site for three hours at full capacity. Additionally, the forecourt building is fitted with a 33.3kW solar PV system to supplement the energy needs of the shops and facilities on the site.
This is the fourth Electric Forecourt to be installed within UKPN’s operating area. To deliver the new infrastructure needed to connect the batteries up to the grid, network connection design and delivery teams from UKPN worked with Gridserve, including developing a voltage management scheme at the grid substation and connecting transformers for auxiliary power to Gridserve’s substation.
Raoul Tufnell, development director at Gridserve, praised the “great collaboration” with UKPN, stating that the project was “a fantastic statement for how Gridserve, working closely with UK Power Networks, is contributing to a greener future for the UK”.
The rise of the “electric forecourt”
With EVs accounting for one in 20 cars on UK roads, the need for EV charging hubs is on the rise, and the market is rising to meet this demand.
EV charging network Be.EV recently announced that it was investing £4 million to regenerate a neglected area in Greater Manchester into a new EV charging hub. The company is working to convert the Failsworth petrol station, which has been left abandoned and derelict for 15 years, into a new EV forecourt and charging hub. The new development will be known as the Manchester Charging Oasis and will host 12 ultra-rapid charging bays as well as a café onsite.
Meanwhile, InstaVolt recently unveiled its new renewable energy powered ultra-rapid EV charging “superhub”, located in Winchester. The site features 44 160kW ultra-rapid EV chargers, and also hosts several solar arrays onsite as well as a 960/4MWh onsite battery energy storage system. InstaVolt states that this superhub is the largest and most advanced EV charging hub in the UK at present.
