Norwegian renewable energy investor Magnora and Canada’s Alberta Investment Management Corporation have announced moves into the UK battery storage market.
More accurately, Magnora has entered the UK solar market too, with an initial investment into a 60MW solar PV project and a 40MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
It will develop the projects to a ready-to-build stage together with its local development partner, and then divest them.
While Magnora declined to disclose who its development partner is, it noted that it had a 10-year track record of developing energy projects in the UK.
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Over the next 12 months, the investor will optimise the environmental and technical elements of the project, secure planning consents and cost-efficient grid connections, and prepare the sales process, it noted.
Magnora pointed to the UK’s 2050 net zero target as well as the Committee for Climate Change’s suggestion that 40GW of solar PV by 2030 is likely, as reasons the UK market is attractive to international investors.
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) and investment manager Railpen have jointly acquired a 94% stake in UK battery storage company, Constantine Energy Storage (CES).
CES develops grid-scale batteries and is planning to invest more than £400 million (US$488.13 million) to build out a pipeline of projects in the UK.
These projects are currently under development by Constantine Group subsidiary Pelagic Energy Developments.
“Constantine Group has a long track record of developing and managing renewable energy platforms,” said Graham Peck, investment director at Constantine.
“During this time, we have seen increasing deployment of renewable energy projects creating a large market opportunity and inherent infrastructure demand for energy storage. Through our subsidiary Pelagic Energy, CES has a robust project pipeline of large and well-located battery projects, which are deliverable in the near term, and thus provide a secure pipeline of best-in-class assets.”
Railpen has over £37 billion assets under management on behalf of several pension schemes.
AIMCo meanwhile, had $168.3 billion assets under management as of 31 December 2021. The institutional investment manager was set up in 2008 and operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta, investing globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds.
This story originally appeared as two separate items on our UK sister site Solar Power Portal. Read the full version of the Magnora story here, read the full version of the AIMCo-Railpen-Constantine Energy story here.
