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Arsenal Can Now Run Match-Day Power From a Battery

Arsenal Is First U.K. Soccer Club to Install Battery at Stadium

(Bloomberg) -- The Arsenal Football Club Plc, which on Sunday extended its unbeaten run to 17 matches, unveiled a battery storage facility that can hold enough energy to run the 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium in north London on match day.

The 2-megawatt lithium-ion battery installed by Pivot Power LLP will allow the soccer club to buy electricity when it’s cheaper and use it at peak times. Arsenal said it plans to add a further 1 megawatt of storage next summer.

The battery will also generate income for the club by helping to balance supply and demand through a frequency-response contract signed with National Grid Plc. It will be required to start up as quickly as a seconds notice to help stabilize the grid frequency.

“The project highlights the important role storage can play in helping companies to meet their sustainability targets,” said James Frith, an analyst at BloombergNEF. “As the cost of storage systems continue to fall, BNEF expects to see more of these behind-the-meter projects.”

Arsenal was also the first top-tier soccer team to switch to 100 percent green electricity supplied by Octopus Energy and the club has installed LED floodlights that use 30 percent less electricity.

Pivot Power aims to have total battery capacity of 50 megawatts at 10 sites within 18 months to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“Arsenal is showing how football clubs and other big power users can save money and support the U.K.’s climate change and clean air targets,” said Pivot Power’s Chief Executive Officer Matt Allen. “Batteries are central to creating a cost-effective, low-carbon economy and we are keen to help government, local authorities and businesses seize the opportunities they offer.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Hodges in London at jhodges17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Lars Paulsson, Andrew Reierson

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.