Harbor ESS 3 MWh UK — TCO Use Case

Verdict. A 3 MWh / 1.5 MW LFP BESS deployed at a UK harbour over a 20-year horizon at an 8.00% discount rate yields NPV = −3,815,584.03 GBP, PV of costs = 3,223,776.49 GBP, PV of benefit = −591,807.54 GBP, LCOS = 0.3182 GBP/kWh. Simple payback = None. Discounted payback = None. The benefit stream is negative in every modelled year because the modelled Dynamic Containment capture price and avoided-import value do not offset CAPEX + augmentation + O&M. Cash benefits must improve materially (or CAPEX must fall) for the project to recover CAPEX on a discounted basis. Equipment: Huawei LUNA2000-200KWH-2H1 cabinets (15 × 200 kWh = 3.0 MWh DC) with Sungrow PCS-ST3450UD-MV PCS at 1.5 MW AC. Location: UK harbour. Horizon: 20 years. Discount rate: 8.00%. Evidence-date for static codes: 2024-01 baseline; UK Default Tariff Cap: 2025-Q1; OEM datasheet revisions cited adjacent in §1.1. Limitation (binding): UK import duty / VAT for HS 8507.60 / 8504.40 / 8537.10 is PENDING at time of RFQ; discounted payback = None in the base case.

1. Use-case brief & equipment

The site is a working UK harbour. Cold-ironing (shore power for berthed vessels) currently draws from a constrained 11 kV grid feeder and from diesel auxiliaries. A 3 MWh / 1.5 MW LFP BESS is proposed to: (a) peak-shave the cold-ironing load during vessels' hoteling windows so the harbour does not trigger a higher DNO import-capacity band; (b) buffer crane and reefer-container spikes on the quay; (c) participate passively in National Grid ESO's Dynamic Containment (DC) ancillary-service window via a third-party aggregator when not serving the harbour load.

1.1 Equipment families named (real, publicly marketed)

OEM-published torque, SOC operating window, and DC voltage limits above are taken from the cited document revisions and are the binding operating limits for the deployed kit. The cited Huawei thermal & enclosure chapter documents the operating ambient range; the page does not claim a BS EN 50645 fire-suppression conformance for this kit (the cited chapter does not assert it). Any fire-suppression certification must be confirmed against the as-supplied cabinet data plate and the installer’s BS EN 50645 / EN 54 evidence at RFQ.

2. Inputs (named sources & explicit bounded assumptions)

2.1 Explicit bounded model assumptions

• residual_value.amount — bounded assumption: 0 GBP at end of year 20. Reasonable bound: 0–200,000 GBP.
• residual_value.year — bounded assumption: year 20 (terminal year of the horizon).
• asset.ess.usable_pct — bounded assumption: 100% in years 1–10, 88% in years 11–20 after year-10 augmentation. Reasonable bound: 85–100%.
• asset.ess.degradation_pct_per_year — bounded assumption: 2.0%/yr linear on deliverable energy from year 2. Reasonable bound: 1.5–3.0%/yr (LFP calendar fade at 25 °C).
• asset.ess.value_per_kwh_discharged — bounded assumption: avoided import tariff 0.245 GBP/kWh ceiling; no export tariff. Reasonable bound: 0.18–0.30 GBP/kWh.

2.2 Citations row for numeric inputs above

3. Computed tables (authoritative)

The tables below are the only mathematics on the page. They are the audited output of the model from the §2 inputs and supersede any figure in this prose.

Reading: Year 0 books full CAPEX 2,425,500 GBP. Year 10 books augmentation. Cumulative discounted net cash flow is negative throughout the horizon, so discounted payback and simple payback are None. Benefit is negative because the modelled avoided-import value is below the per-year operating cost; no export tariff is assumed.

4. Scenarios & sensitivity

The cells below are the only scenario mathematics on the page. They are taken directly from the audited scenario run on the same input stack as §3.

5. UK landed-cost block (duty / VAT PENDING)

6. Mini cert & HS block

• BESS transport must comply with IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (UN 3480 / UN 3481 as applicable to LFP cells installed in / packed with equipment).
• Wood packaging must comply with IPPC ISPM 15.
• Shipment terms: ICC Incoterms 2020 rule stated at RFQ (CIF, DAP, or DDP).
• EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 applies to EU imports (due diligence, recycled-content, labelling).

7. Evidence-date for static codes / datasheets

Tariff and cap references in §2 are dated 2025-Q1 (Ofgem cap) and 2024-01 (NG-ESO DC window and cap basis). OEM datasheet revisions are those cited adjacent in §1.1.

8. Request a quote

Submit a structured RFQ for the 3 MWh / 1.5 MW UK harbour BESS referenced above:

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