First Minister breaks ground on Swansea electricity grid stability scheme – the first of its kind in Wales
Construction work is now underway at an innovative green energy project north of Swansea, following a groundbreaking ceremony which was attended by the First Minister of Wales, the Rt. Hon. Eluned Morgan MS.
Swansea Greener Grid Park is the first electricity grid stability scheme in Wales from Statkraft, Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, and equates to around £70m of investment in the Welsh energy transition.
The event, which took place with the Ambassador of Norway to the United Kingdom, HE Tore Hattrem in attendance, comes shortly after the First Minister signalled her intention to speed up the pace of renewables deployment in Wales by removing barriers to investment.
The Greener Grid Park scheme will use six large rotating stabilisers to replicate the spinning turbines of a traditional power station. This innovative technology will help keep the lights on in Welsh homes during faults or disturbances on the grid – without requiring traditional fossil-fired power plants to be switched on to maintain a stable frequency of electricity from the grid.
Once fully operational, the site will contribute to the delivery of the Welsh and UK Governments’ net zero and energy decarbonisation objectives, helping to make fossil fuels a thing of the past and bolstering the nation’s energy security. The technology will also help deliver a stable, secure and cheaper power supply to households, businesses and Wales’ industrial sector
Statkraft was awarded the contract to provide stability services by NESO – the National Energy System Operator – under phase three of its Stability Pathfinder Programme, in 2022. NESO has said that the contracts will deliver £14.9bn of savings between 2025 and 2035. The planning application, which received unanimous support from Swansea Council, was revised by Statkraft to include two further synchronous compensators allowing the site to deliver stability more effectively to the grid.
Swansea will be the third scheme to deliver stability through the use of rotating stabilisers, after Keith, in Moray, and Lister Drive in Liverpool, both of which are already operational and are saving 216,000 tonnes of CO2e per year.
During her visit to the site in Morriston, on the outskirts of Swansea, the First Minister met members of the Statkraft project team and other colleagues based in Wales. She had the opportunity to find out more about the plans for the Greener Grid Park, and how this technology will help enable more home-grown Welsh renewable energy projects such as wind and solar farms to operate on the GB electricity grid.
This scheme is just one part of Statkraft’s broader strategy to enhance the UK’s energy infrastructure, with an investment pipeline exceeding £4 billion, and almost 20 projects with planning consent, and further projects in development across wind, solar, hydro, and green hydrogen. Diversity in terms of renewable technologies means that Statkraft is contributing to grid stability and ensuring a resilient, versatile energy system capable of meeting the demands of the future.
Eluned Morgan MS, First Minister of Wales, said: “Wales’ electricity needs could treble by 2050, so it’s important that infrastructure like Statkraft’s Greener Grid Park in Swansea is in place to support the grid and ensure it can cope with the increasing demand in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way.
“Schemes like this are important in ensuring we’re ready to continue the transition to more renewable energy, delivering on one of my priorities for green growth. I was also pleased today to announce the creation of an Offshore Energy Task and Finish Group, which will bring the expertise we need together and help us achieve our renewable energy targets.”
Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP said: “This is a huge milestone as work begins on the clean power grid stability scheme in Wales – a prime example of how Great Britain continues to back clean energy technology to unlock investment and power our homes and businesses and make our country a clean energy superpower.
“Together with the Welsh Government, we want to see more projects like this in Wales and across the UK – creating skilled local jobs and propelling us towards our net zero goals.”
Richard Mardon, Statkraft’s Head of UK Development, said: “Swansea Greener Grid Park is a stand-out example of how Wales can serve as a beacon of green energy innovation, delivering home-grown solutions that benefit Welsh communities whilst bolstering the nation’s wider energy security. Innovative schemes like this will increase the deployment of renewable energy to the grid, bringing down bills for consumers and businesses, and reducing carbon emissions for us all.”
