L&Q Estates partners with Bristol's Hydrock on homes energy management

By Nicky Godding

12 July 2022

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Land promoter and developer L&Q Estates has struck a partnership to explore providing energy management systems on its sites across the UK.

The Leamington Spa-based company has entered an agreement with Hydrock, the Bristol-based engineering design, energy and sustainability consultancy with over 700 staff in 20 key locations across the UK, to investigate the feasibility of incorporating grid scale battery storage on its national portfolio of sites.

Battery storage provides a more responsive energy system which allows for variations in the production and use of renewable energy to be managed efficiently, taking in to account variability in supply and demand.

Darren Mace, Projects Director at L&Q Estates, said: “This is a really exciting project that will see us develop our understanding of the battery storage market with the opportunity to apply the new technology across our portfolio of development sites.

“We have looked at several key sites and believe they would be well placed to feature battery storage and help the push to Net Zero. There is a drive to ensure that the energy harnessed through natural sources such as windfarms is more widely stored to prevent it going to waste and to maximise its usage.

“We have worked with Hydrock on different projects over the years and they are one of the most respected consultancies in this particular field and we look forward to working with them to bring these schemes to fruition.”

There is currently 1.5GW of installed batteries in the UK, with current pipeline growth to 6.5GW by 2025 and there is a need for circa 50GW by 2050 to support Government’s Net Zero commitment.

L&Q Estates is one of the first land promoters and developers to enter a partnership to explore the potential across future development sites.

Josh Bullard, Divisional Director at Hydrock, said the technology would be a key element in the transition to Net Zero.

He said: “Lithium-ion battery storage provides a rapid response generation and storage capability. The batteries connect to the local electricity network, storing surplus capacity during low demand that can be released during peak times to supplement the local grid.

“This avoids the need to curtail power generation from renewables such as wind and solar when there is limited demand."

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.