Ørsted to integrate world's first offshore wind-connected battery

Ørsted is developing the Iceni battery energy storage system (BESS) as part of the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the UK. The 300 MW/600 MWh project is the world’s first utility-scale battery to be directly integrated into an offshore wind farm’s transmission infrastructure. Rather than using a standalone grid connection, Iceni will share transmission assets and an onshore grid connection with the Hornsea 3 wind farm.

Construction of the Iceni system, which will utilize Tesla batteries, began in March and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2027. The wind farm itself is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 and will generate enough power for approximately 3.3 million UK homes.

London-based renewable energy firm Arenko has been selected to deploy its Nimbus platform to manage the trading, optimization, and asset management of the Iceni battery. The project serves as a ‘pathfinder’ under the UK’s Offshore Transmission Network Review to improve coordination between generation and storage assets and maximize existing grid infrastructure.