This UK edition of news in brief features project news from RWE, Quinbrook, E.On, TagEnergy and Harmony Energy.
NextEnergy Solar Fund commissions first standalone BESS
Solar energy and energy storage investor NextEnergy Solar Fund’s (NESF) maiden standalone 50MW battery energy storage system (BESS) has gone live, bringing the developer’s total net installed capacity to 1,014MW.
The 50MW BESS, dubbed ‘Camilla’, is a 1-hour lithium-ion battery located in Fife, Scotland. The project connected to the National Grid in December 2023 and concluded final phases of commissioning earlier this year.
The first asset to be delivered through NESF’s £300 million (US$381.3 million) Joint Venture Partnership programmed with developer Eelpower Limited, Camilla, has been pre-configured for augmentation to increase its duration to two hours.
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The asset was also successful in this year’s T-1 Capacity Market Auction, securing a contract with a clearing price of £35.79/kW. NESF added that the contract requires the derated capacity of 5.659MW and is expected to generate £202,000 of additional contracted revenue for the period 1 October 2024 through to the end of September 2025.
By Lena Dias Martins
To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.
Quinbrook, E.On partnership developing 460MWh BESS
Specialist investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has partnered with E.ON to construct a 230MW/460MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Uskmouth, South Wales.
The project, situated on the site of a former coal power station stockyard, will become one of the UK’s largest BESS projects being developed to date. It is expected to support the local area with around 140 jobs across 2024.
Under the terms of the agreement, E.ON will acquire 50% of the project capacity and jointly invest in its construction. The 2-hour duration asset is expected to be operational in Q1 2025, with construction having commenced in November 2023.
Plans for the project were unveiled in May 2022 when global sustainable energy developer, owner and operator Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE) agreed a partnership Quinbrook to pursue the project via the joint portfolio company Uskmouth Energy Storage (UES).
Since then, Quinbrook has acquired the exclusive development rights for the project and completed all major development milestones, including planning approvals, grid import agreements with National Grid, project design and equipment procurement.
As previously reported on Solar Power Portal, UES will own and operate the project.
By George Heynes
To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.
Developers TagEnergy, Harmony Energy bring online 49MW Scotland project
The 49MW/98MWh Jamesfield standalone battery energy storage system (BESS), a joint venture between TagEnergy and Harmony Energy, has gone live in Scotland.
The project, located near Abernethy, Scotland, uses 2-hour duration Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries and Tesla’s Autobidder AI software.
Jamesfield became a joint venture with energy infrastructure developer Harmony Energy following the clean energy enterprise’s acquisition of a 60% stake in the project in November 2021.
Following £12.5 million in funding from Santander UK’s green energy initiative, the project progressively came online from November 2023 before being completed and fully energised in early February 2024.
“The completion of the Jamesfield BESS is another significant milestone for our valued partnership with TagEnergy, following the success of our other joint venture site, Chapel Farm,” said Peter Kavanagh, chief executive at Harmony Energy.
TagEnergy’s secured BESS portfolio in the UK currently stands at 320MW/640MWh.
By Lena Dias Martins
To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.
RWE’s first UK solar projects will include 45MW co-located battery storage
RWE has begun constructing its first seven UK solar and storage sites, representing 330MW of solar and 45MW of co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The projects are the first of the 3.8GW solar and 2.5GW battery storage capacity from the portfolio the German energy giant secured through its acquisition of developer JBM Solar to enter construction.
Completed in March 2023, the acquisition made RWE one of the key players in the UK’s solar market.
The seven projects entering construction are:
- Langford (35MW solar + 35MW BESS)
- Claydon (45MW solar +10MW BESS)
- Cotmoor (50MW)
- Moreton Lane (50MW)
- Doverdale (50MW)
- Stoneshollow (50MW)
- Ashorne (50MW)
All seven projects have successfully secured Contracts for Difference (CfD) and will be constructed to facilitate a co-located BESS asset where one is not already installed. Additionally, RWE’s projects will contribute a total of £645,000 towards communities local to the sites.
By Lena Dias Martins
To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.
