1.29GW of battery storage wins contracts in UK’s T-4 Capacity Market auction

By Molly Lempriere
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

The UK’s T-4 Capacity Market auction has cleared in its third round at a record high of £63 (US$75.9)/kW/year, more than double the previous record high price.

Of the ~46MW of pre-qualified capacity eligible for the 2026/27 auction, 46,031.692MW won contracts, representing 93.42%.

Significantly, the number of battery storage assets continued to grow. Of the 1.9GW of de-rated capacity to pre-qualify, 1.29GW secured contracts.

The T-4 is the mechanism by which the government contracts four years in advance for energy capacity to advance the UK’s energy security aims.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

This follows last year’s significant growth, which saw a ~800MW jump in capacity that pushed the contracts above 1GW. This split between 107 units, with more than 60% of this storage over two hours in duration.

Of this year’s 143 winning battery storage units, over 90% have contracts with a 15 year duration.

Renewables also surged, with 76.85MW of onshore wind, offshore wind and solar winning contracts. This is eight times the volume that won contracts last year, even if it remains a small segment of the overall capacity procured.

The T-4 results follow last week’s T-1 2023-24 Capacity Market auction, which cleared at its second highest price ever, with 5,782.777MW procured at a clearing price of £60/kW/y. That included 627MW of battery storage, with T-1 auctions contracting one year ahead.

Gas remained the big winner in the auction, growing to over 29GW, leading to questions around its use given Britain’s goal of a net zero electricity system by 2035.

To read the full version of this story, including a breakdown of all awarded Capacity Market Units (CMU) by generation type and capacity awarded, visit Current±.

Read Next

August 26, 2025
IPP Neoen has enlisted BESS supplier NHOA Energy for its first energy storage project in Italy.
Premium
August 25, 2025
Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) has laid the groundwork for a new 120MWh distribution-connected portfolio of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.
August 22, 2025
Spanish utility Iberdrola and power conversion specialist firm Ingeteam have partnered to hybridise Spanish operational PV plants with battery energy storage systems (BESS).
August 21, 2025
Statera Energy has begun operating the biggest BESS project in the UK, connected to a National Grid substation that formerly supported two coal power plants.
Premium
August 20, 2025
Long-term BESS offtake and PPA deals are clearly on the rise in Europe, but how are they evolving vi-a-vis structures, tenors and regional differences?

Most Popular

Email Newsletter