The Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array, located in Kilroot Power Station in Carrickfergus, has been completed, AES UK & Ireland has announced.

The Array provides 10 megawatts (MW) of interconnected energy storage, equivalent to 20 MW of flexible resource, and is the largest advanced energy storage system in the UK and Ireland, and the only such system at transmission scale.

The Array uses the Advancion 4 energy storage solution, a complete, battery based alternative to peaking power plants that provides a dependable, smart and cost-competitive means to support a reliable, low carbon electricity system for the Northern Ireland economy.

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The Kilroot Array will enhance grid reliability by providing fast response ancillary services like frequency regulation, as part of the system operator's existing Harmonised Ancillary Services system. With more efficient balancing of supply and demand, energy storage will lower costs to consumers, unlock the value of existing renewables, and improve the security of supply in the All Ireland Electricity System.

The Array utilises over 53,000 batteries, arranged in 136 separate Nodes for increased reliability, and the patented Advancion control system, which responds to grid changes in less than a second. Advancion 4 is among the most proven energy storage platforms available, resulting from AES' more than eight years of commercial experience operating grid-connected energy storage.