Arenko has been chosen by Ørsted to implement its Nimbus optimisation, asset management, and trading platform at the 300 MW/600 MWh Iceni battery energy storage system (BESS), part of the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the UK. The BESS project is set to begin operations in the first quarter of 2027.
The Iceni battery storage project is one of the UK’s pioneering large-scale co-location projects under the Offshore Transmission Network Review (OTNR).
Iceni is designed to use shared transmission infrastructure and an onshore grid connection with Hornsea 3, instead of a separate grid connection. Arenko notes this makes it the first utility-scale battery directly integrated into offshore transmission infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Arenko’s Nimbus software will forecast market and asset conditions, manage battery capacity allocation in real time, and automate trading across power markets. The platform will also facilitate the technical, data, and controls integration necessary to operate the battery alongside the offshore wind farm through their shared connection.
“What makes Iceni interesting for us isn’t just the scale of the battery, but how it works alongside Hornsea 3. We are aiming to optimise two very different assets, wind and storage, through a shared connection point, while ensuring that both deliver significant value to the grid,” said Katinka Hussman Palbo, Vice President, Global Trading & Revenue, Ørsted.
Ørsted made a final investment decision on the BESS project in June 2024, opting for a Tesla system with a capacity of 600 MWh and a power rating of 300 MW. The company began construction at the BESS site near Norwich, where the Hornsea 3 onshore converter station is also being built, in March 2025.
“Iceni is a highly sophisticated project, coupling a grid-scale battery with one of the UK’s biggest offshore wind farms. This creates significant opportunities but also operational and trading challenges, from forecasting and deciding how and when to allocate capacity in real time, to the technical, data, and controls integrations between the two assets,” said Rupert Newland, CEO, Arenko.
“We’ve worked closely with Ørsted as their thinking around flexibility has evolved, and with projects like Iceni they are taking a pioneering role in bringing significant generation capacity and utility-scale storage together. Nimbus is built for that kind of environment, providing the automation and optimisation capabilities needed to manage increasingly large and complex assets, across multiple markets.”
Located approximately 120 kilometres off the coast of Norfolk in the UK North Sea, the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm is currently under construction, with the first monopile foundations installed early this year.
The offshore wind farm will feature 197 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD turbines, each with a capacity of 14 MW, excluding power boost, and is expected to be commissioned in 2027.
Original Story at www.offshorewind.biz