ENERGY AND CARBON SAVINGS
system was installed at the hospital as a fully containerised switchroom, meaning minimal disruption on site, and helping ensure that the hospital would function without interruption. The full case study for this project is available on the Powerstar website.
Inside a BESS / NHS BESS unit.
Additional functions Constant monitoring of the Grid supply enables ultra-fast switching – within 10 ms – meaning that the battery can perform many additional functions when its UPS capability is not required. When one NHS hospital in South Yorkshire approached Powerstar to advise on their power resilience strategy, seamless UPS was clearly critical to any solution for energy saving and emission reduction. As the first UPS of its type with full HTM 06-01
compliance, the 500 kW / 500 kWh BESS installed by Powerstar has reduced energy costs to the hospital by approximately £225,000 per year, while eliminating 190 tonnes of CO2
e. With ultra-fast switching,
it provides the seamless UPS capabilities needed by the hospital; on just one day last April, it supported the full load for 15 seconds when the Grid supply failed, and for 23 seconds in a second event, ensuring that critical care facilities at the hospital could continue, uninterrupted. This new
Flexibility to store energy Perhaps the greatest asset of a BESS, though, is its capability to offer the flexibility to store energy – whether generated on-site through renewables such as roof-top solar arrays, or drawn from the Grid at off-peak times to be either used at peak times or to be sold to the Grid, enabling Trusts to take part in Grid Balancing schemes, and to generate a new revenue stream. Intrinsic to battery storage is the opportunity it gives to engage with Demand Side Response (DSR) and Firm Frequency Response (FFR) contracts, which can equate to around £100,000 of new annual revenue for an average NHS Trust. This means not just more sustainable, secure emergency UPS, but also better capability for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging – meaning greener and more sustainable transport – as well as a welcome reduction in energy costs. This is a particularly pressing point for the NHS, which has ambitions to have switched at least 90% of its fleet to low- emissions options – largely EVs – by 2028. To make this happen is a major undertaking, with a rapid EV charger generally requiring between 100 kW and 350 kW. To simply add this to the estate may well not be feasible without embarking on a major infrastructure project – a larger Grid connection and increased supply capacity. In the current context, when we are all aware of the issues of insecure energy supply across the UK, a BESS can be used to buffer large power demands. In this instance, the battery charges slowly from the Grid, and then delivers high energy discharge when needed, which is particularly helpful for EV charging, and for single, large loads required by vital equipment such as MRI scanners.
A smart microgrid diagram. 62 Health Estate Journal January 2023
Grid balancing schemes To help maximise and boost energy budgets, Trusts are increasingly engaging in Grid Balancing schemes – whether DSR or FFR contracts – and these Trusts are at the forefront of the move from fossil-fuelled, centralised energy supply to the more distributed, localised energy generation model that will play an increasing role in our energy supply for the foreseeable future. For BESS users, income generation opportunities can come through a direct contract with the Grid, with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO), or through an aggregator service. Trusts contracting in this way can fulfil their obligations by turning
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73
