Highview Power Storage

General information

Highview Power Storage is a British energy technology company that has developed a novel, low cost energy storage system that uses liquefied air to store ‘wrong-time’ or off-peak energy so that it can then be used in periods of peak demand. The system was originally conceived by the company’s founders working with scientists from the University of Leeds.

Highview operated a grid-connected pilot plant (350kW/2.5MWh) hosted by Scottish & Southern Energy in Slough from 2010 - 2014. The company is now commissioning a 5MW/15MWh demonstration plant with project partners, Viridor at one of its landfill gas sites in Greater Manchester.

What is energy storage all about?

Storing electricity affordably is described by many as the “Holy Grail” of a low carbon electricity network, and specifically the wholesale deployment of intermittent renewables.

The problem is that the wind doesn’t always blow; the sun doesn’t always shine - and as we get more renewables on our grids, we’ll get bigger supply and demand mismatches; or to put it simply “wrong–time energy” rather than not enough energy.

Currently, we literally throw the wrong-time energy away (i.e. turn the wind turbines off when the wind power is blowing but the Grid cannot use the electricity generated) and then use back-up high emission fossil fuel plants when the demand is high, but the wind is not blowing. And we continue to pay the wind farm operator even if we cannot use the power generated. In fact Wind farm operators were paid £2.6 million to keep their turbines idle last month and the cost of switching them off is likely to rise.

The alternative is energy storage: capture wrong-time, excess green energy and store it for use when the demand is high.