Reserve Power
Reserve power’s role in the electricity market is to quickly provide power to the grid when there might be a shortfall or imbalance between supply and demand, typically at peak times in the morning or evening
Reserve power plants typically consist of multiple gas engines, that are operated remotely and can ramp up to full power swiftly when requested. Gas-fired reserve power plants help decarbonize the UK’s power grid by enabling the grid to handle ever-greater amounts of intermittent renewable energy. As coal and nuclear baseload generators are replaced with renewables, National Grid has forecast that the need for reserve power will increase.
Case Study
Mercia Power Response
Mercia Power Response (Mercia) was acquired into the Averon Group in 2016 and consists of 25 operational sites with an installed capacity of 191MW and a further five locations being developed to add another 28MW. Each plant consists of a number of gas engines, sized between 1-4MW, to ensure maximum flexibility and scalability. 100MW of lithium battery projects are in advanced stages of development and twelve other sites are being reviewed for an additional 400MW of capacity.
