New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Project profile: MESH, potentially the UK’s largest long-duration energy store
27/10/2026
8 min read
Feature
The MESH energy storage project is being developed by EnergyPathways in salt caverns beneath the East Irish Sea, with onshore facilities at the Port of Barrow, Cumbria. At 300MW and 55GWh capacity, with more than 100 hours of discharge at full power, MESH is set to be the UK’s largest long-duration energy storage (LDES) facility, writes Ben Clube, EnergyPathways’ Chief Executive Officer.
Great Britain has built one of the world’s great offshore wind fleets, but it has not yet built anywhere to put the power. On windy days we pay wind farms to switch off. On still days we pay gas plants to switch on. Consumers pay twice and the bill is growing every year.
LDES is the key missing piece. Storing surplus energy when it is abundant and releasing it when the country needs it most is the only way a renewables-led grid can be affordable, secure and low-carbon at the same time. Analysis for the UK government puts the potential system saving from LDES at £24–50bn between 2030 and 2050.
Great Britain still heavily depends on gas-fired generation to back up wind. About half of that gas comes from the North Sea today. As production declines, the UK could be importing up to 90% of its needs in peak winter periods. Gas plays a critical role in ensuring we have reliable power 24/7 to keep the lights on – so security over our future gas supply is essential for our energy and national security. With less than six days of national gas storage to fall back on, the country is vulnerable to import disruption and needs more gas storage. By comparison, big importers like the EU and China have storage capacity of around 80 days and 40 days respectively.