The text below is the transcript from the '3 WHITELEE BESS' video. An audio-described version of the video is also available.
Video Title: 3 WHITELEE BESS
LAURA: Hi, I'm Laura Young, also known as less Waste Laura. And for the past few years, I've tried to live an environmentally conscious lifestyle and advocate for climate justice. I'm touring around the amazing Whitelee Wind Farm, to learn more about the future of our energy and the net zero debate. I've just been with the operations team at Turbine 48, and I know headed to Ardochrig substation to see the futuristic battery development that's going on.
Hi, guys, I'm looking for Yusuf and Joaquín. Is that you?
JOAQUIN: Yes, I’m Joaquin.
YUSUF: I’m Yusuf.
LAURA: Oh, perfect. I've been signed by Mark and George to find the guys outside the battery. Why is it that you actually do?
YUSUF: Yeah, I'm the operations director at ScottishPower Renewables. So, my team look after the operation of wind farms up and down the UK.
LAURA: Amazing. There’s not just one, there’s quite a few?
YUSUF: Oh, there's over 30 of them spread from the north of Scotland, all the way down to the south of England and a few sites over Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as well.
LAURA: Amazing. And, what is it you do?
JOAQUIN: I’m senior project manager. So I'm looking after the construction of our solar portfolio. We have plans to develop a solar farm here in Whitelee. So, the energy park is getting bigger and more diverse. We're going to have different technologies. Wind, battery, solar is all coming together.
LAURA: I've been cycling all around the wind farm. But why is this battery right at the edge?
JOAQUIN: Well, this was the best option. We could install our battery here because we are at the end of the wind farm and we are near the service station here. So it was the easiest way to connect everything all together. So you have the wind farm, the battery and the substation connect to the grid.
LAURA: Why do you even have a battery on a wind farm?
YUSUF: Well, it’s a big part of wind farm has been able to do what historically what some of the oil, coal and gas stations used to do. We've been developing the capability to do some of the grid requirements effectively. Frequency response, reactive power compensation. And I'm going forward black start to capability as well. We've been developing that within the business.
JOAQUIN: It’s a massive milestone to be able to build this and energize these facilities. So it's something that is remarkable not only for our company, but for the whole industry.
LAUARA: When I think of a battery, I think is something that goes into more like a double or triple A. But this obviously is a bit bigger than that.
JOAQUIN: Yes and no, it’s the same principle, but a different scale with a different use. But it's pretty much similar to what we all have in our home.
LAURA: Is there any chance I can see inside?
JOAQUIN: Absolutely. But first, we need to change our helmet for this one and you PP’s and we’ll get you inducted and can get you inside.
LAURA: Amazing. That way?
LAURA: This place is completely different to what I thought it would be. So inside each of these cabinets, there's batteries.
JOAQUIN: Yes, there are batteries all over the place. You can take a look.
LAURA: And so how many of these batteries do you have in this building?
JOAQUIN: On racks like these we have 275.
LAURA: Wow, that’s a lot of power. Outside you mentioned Black Start.
YUSUF: So Black Star has the ability for the renewable asset to run from basically dead to start generating without having to be connected at the time.
JOAQUIN: You need to have somebody who said in their reference for voltage, for the frequency, for the whole system. So the wind farm can energize the rest of the network, so the wind farm can energize the rest of the network. So, it's a pretty clear system that we pioneer in ScottishPower last year. So, we're very excited to start building that facility and have that operation by next year.
LAURA: That sounds amazing. But one final question, because I know how long it takes my phone to charge on my bike to charge. How long does it take to really get this place charging up and ready to go?
JOAQUIN: I’ll say a couple of hours. But the thing is, once it's operational, you are going to have different sectors working at different reems so you can provide services like a Black Start as well, a dynamic containment frequency regulation voltage and all those tricky things that the electricity system needs. So whenever you turn on the lights at your home, this happens.
LAURA: It's amazing to see just how much goes on when I switch on my light at home. Thank you so much for showing me around. Should we head out.
JOAQUIN: Yes.
LAURA: Amazing, let’s go.
That place was amazing. And to see such innovation right on my doorstep. It was great to see that Scottish power renewables are really playing their part in the net zero journey. And that battery puts the one on my back to shame. But I want to find out more about how onshore has a role in our future of energy. Join me next time as I find out more.