Britain’s biggest battery project so far goes live in grid-balancing markets

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
The 50MW / 75MWh Thurcroft site in

The UK’s biggest battery storage project so far has been acquired by London Stock Exchange-listed battery storage investor Gresham House Energy Storage Fund and is already participating in numerous grid services markets.

Gresham House said that it has completed its investment in the 50MW / 75MWh Thurcroft battery storage site in South Yorkshire, which is in northern England.

The asset has been acquired from Gresham House DevCo and Noriker Power, with Gresham House having acquired a 5% stake in the latter in 2019.

The Thurcroft asset was acquired from the two developers for a total enterprise value of £32.5 million (US$42.32 million), plus up to £0.75 million of deferred contingent consideration. It becomes Gresham House’s 11th operational utility-scale battery storage project, bringing the total portfolio to 265MW.

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

It is expected that Gresham House’s completion of the acquisition of another asset, the 50MW Wickham battery storage site, is to occur shortly. John Leggate CBE, chair of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, said: “Thurcroft is our largest battery project yet and we’re delighted that it’s now live. The dynamic fluctuations in power on the National Grid during lockdown, and the unassailable rise of wind and solar installations, have sharpened the focus on the need for fast-acting, flexible storage at scale.”

Prior to Thurcroft’s completion, the 49MW Red Scar asset was Gresham House’s largest, having completed its £32.8 million acquisition in January 2020.

Meanwhile, Flexitricity, a demand response and flexibility energy services provider, contacted Energy-Storage.news to say that the project is already generating revenue and at the same time helping electric system operator National Grid ESO to balance the UK grid.

Gresham House contracted Flexitricity to optimise the asset’s operation following successful work on a previous project.

It has already joined the Balancing Mechanism (BM), which balances demand and supply on the network in real-time and is becoming a common source of revenues for energy storage projects in the UK. Flexitricity’s control room monitors the Thurcroft asset round-the-clock and alters the battery system’s charge and discharge profile accordingly.

Thurcroft is also set to be used in the wholesale markets, as well as tender to provide frequency response ancillary services to the grid. According to Flexitricity, the battery project has already been able to secure “high value” daily contracts for participating in National Grid ESO’s Dynamic Containment market – the grid operator’s newest, much-talked about frequency regulation opportunity.

“Flexibility is a hugely important part of decarbonising the grid and batteries are an excellent source of flexibility. Investors are getting comfortable with the business case for energy storage and it’s great this year to be seeing a number of large batteries coming onto the system, providing more of the rapid response flexibility National Grid ESO needs to maintain system stability,” Andy Lowe, Flexitricity director, said.

“I’m glad to say we’re off to a great start and have been able to optimise revenue for the battery across a range of markets, including securing high prices in the first ever tender round of the newly launched Dynamic Containment service.”

Planning regulations which changed in Britain a while ago could change the landscape for the country’s big battery systems. Over 1GW of utility-scale battery capacity has been deployed already and a recent government ruling lifted certain restrictions and planning hurdles placed on battery projects of over 50MW.

Ben Guest, Gresham House managing director alluded to Great Britain needing “at least 10GW” of energy storage “in the next few years to enable the orderly transition to a renewables-led electricity market” and said that Gresham is targeting 350MW of operational assets by the end of this year.

“In turn, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the UK’s 2050 net zero ambitions, while achieving strong returns for our investors.”

Additional reporting for Energy-Storage.news by Andy Colthorpe.

The original version of this story appeared on Solar Power Portal.

14 October 2025
InterContinental, Santiago, Chile
We are excited to bring the industry together for the fourth edition of the Energy Storage Summit Latin America on 14-15 October in Santiago, Chile. The Summit has become a meeting place for IPPs and developers, investors, financiers and banks, utilities, consultancies, software providers, and manufacturers who are setting high standards in the Latin American energy storage sector.
14 October 2025
10am PDT / 6pm BST
Join Wärtsilä battery analytics experts Andrea Meister and Steve Merrick for a critical session that cuts through the confusion surrounding state of charge (SoC), state of health (SoH), cell imbalance, and round-trip efficiency (RTE)—parameters that directly impact real-time operations and revenue. As grid demands intensify and performance expectations rise, the margin for error is shrinking. Andrea and Steve will unpack how these metrics are measured, how errors and degradation develop, and how to proactively avoid them. You’ll gain practical insights into how these factors influence real-time usable energy and system performance.
14 October 2025
Brussels, Belgium
can be added on the Energy Storage News event page. The Energy Storage Global Conference 2025 takes place form 14-16 October and will bring together representatives from across Europe to discuss the evolving landscape of energy storage. The programme will focus on policy, market dynamics and regional developments, while also addressing key issues such as legislative challenges, safety guidelines and decarbonisation strategies. Participants will gain insights into financing and market opportunities, as well as the unique advancements and integration efforts taking place within the Benelux region. For more information on the conference, please visit: https://www.accelevents.com/e/ENERGY-STORAGE-GLOBAL-CONFERENCE-2025?aff=EnergyStorageNews
14 October 2025
The Marble Arch Hotel, London, UK
As developers and investors expand into new markets and more projects approach commissioning, this Summit provides the platform to address the key challenges of battery asset management head-on. In 2025, the programme will centre around three essential themes: Revenue & Trading, the Lifecycle of the Battery, and Optimisation Tools for Success. With deep dives into core markets—including the Nordics, Iberia, Italy, Germany, the UK & Ireland, and the Benelux region—you’ll gain the insight needed to position yourself as a leader in battery asset performance and strategy.
21 October 2025
360 Madison Avenue, New York
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
22 October 2025
2pm BST / 3pm CEST
Join our expert panel for this solutions-focused webinar where we’ll reveal how leading asset managers are transforming operations through a practical data-exchange architecture that standardises telemetry and metadata, embeds auditability into workflows, and ensures all stakeholders access the same accurate information through a Partner API. With analytics-ready data in place, you’ll discover how to apply advanced battery analytics that reduce downtime by up to 15% and increase the return on every asset under management.

Read Next

Premium
October 8, 2025
Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) has negotiated the terms of a solar and BESS power purchase agreement (PPA) with Boston, Massachusetts-based developer Longroad Energy.
October 8, 2025
Repurposing EV battery packs and modules into BESS obviously has environmental benefits, but challenges around pricing, performance and safety remain, panellists at an industry event in London said last week.
October 8, 2025
Some quick snapshots from the presentations and panels at Energy Storage Summit Asia 2025, taking place this week in Manila, Philippines.
October 8, 2025
US utility Xcel Energy has proposed to build out a 200MW battery storage network across Minnesota, US.
October 8, 2025
The NSW Independent Planning Commission has granted planning approval for Potentia Energy’s 500MW Tallawang solar-plus-storage project.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter