Masdar Arlington Energy, Renewable Power Capital (RPC) and TagEnergy have broken ground on, acquired and financed (respectively) projects totalling 162MW of power in the UK battery energy storage system (BESS) space.
The UK market is a leader in BESS deployments, with some 7.3GW/11.6GWh set to be online by the end of 2024, according to figures from Solar Media Market Research’s UK Battery Storage Project Database Report.
It was a big focus of last week’s Energy Storage Summit event in London, with topics ranging from falling revenues and co-location business models to the optimal size for larger-scale projects.
Masdar Arlington Energy begins building two UK BESS units
Developer-operator Masdar Arlington Energy has started construction on two BESS projects with a combined capacity of 55MW, one in Rochdale and one in Stockport.
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The announcement follows Masdar’s announcement last year that it plans to invest £1 billion (US$1.26 billion) in the UK BESS market. The UAE state-owned renewable energy company acquired Arlington Energy in late 2022, which it renamed Masdar Arlington Energy.
The energy management system arm of utility Octopus Energy, Kraken Flex, will optimise Masdar Arlington Energy’s UK BESS pipeline, which it claims is 3GWh.
Masdar didn’t say when the two projects would come online or the MWh size of the projects, though most being built in the UK today are 2-hour systems.
Renewable Power Capital acquires construction-ready 57MW project
Renewable energy investor-operator Renewable Power Capital (RPC) has acquired its first ready-to-build (RTB) project in the UK. The project has a power rating of 57MW at the grid connection point, though, like Masdar, RPC didn’t reveal the MWh capacity.
It didn’t detail where the project is but said in its announcement (27 February) that construction would start imminently and that the project would come online in summer 2025.
It follows development partnerships that RPC has agreed with developers Greenfield (500MW) and Elmya Energy (4GW).
TagEnergy reaches financial close on a 49.9MW project in Scotland
Renewable energy investor-operator TagEnergy has reached financial close on its 49.9MW/99.8MWh Pitkevy facility in Fife, Scotland. Pitkevy is TagEnergy’s first split-contract project, with Tesla providing the Megapack 2 XL battery systems and RJ McLeod completing site works and battery container installation.
Financed by a non-recourse green loan package on a fully merchant basis, except for Capacity Market revenues, the package was originally secured to finance the construction and operation of TagEnergy’s Lakeside Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project. This is the sixth UK battery storage facility in the company’s portfolio.
Backed by Santander UK, Rabobank, and Triple Point, the finance package includes an uncommitted accordion facility that allows TagEnergy to include the Pitkevy site in the funding structure.
The TagEnergy article originally appeared on Solar Power Portal.
