UK Roundup: Developers net large-scale BESS financing and approvals

The finance package has been sourced from NatWest Bank and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and will be used to construct the Ocker Hill BESS, a 99MW/198MWh BESS development located between the towns of Dudley and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.

The Ocker Hill BESS will be built close to the site of the former Ocker Hill coal-fired power station, which was demolished in 1985. The development, Eku Energy’s fourth energy storage project in the UK, is expected to be commissioned in late 2026.

The development will make use of 54 Tesla Megapack BESS units and will be constructed by H&MV Engineering, which will serve as the balance of plant (BOP) contractor for the project. Once completed, SmartestEnergy, which is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Marubeni Corporation, will work as the tolling provider for the development under a ten-year agreement.

SMBC and NatWest have also provided Eku Energy with an uncommitted accordion facility of £100 million to fund Eku Energy’s near-term UK projects, including several that Eku Energy recently acquired as part of the recent takeover of the Bluestone Energy BESS portfolio. The newly-acquired assets have a combined pipeline capacity of 1GW/2GWh.

By Kit Million Ross.

To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners collaborator Alcemi wins planning consent

Scottish ministers in the Energy Consents Unit have approved an application from energy storage developer Alcemi for a 300MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The transmission-connected Kintore BESS will be located on a 5.7-hectare brownfield site on the edge of the existing Midmill business park, 1.5km south of Kintore and 2.8km east of the Kintore substation.

Following the approval, Alcemi has a pipeline of 1,800MW of battery storage with planning permission in Scotland. UK-wide, Alcemi has a total 2.3GW of schemes consented. For the Kintore BESS, Alcemi has a connection date of October 2029.

As with the rest of its projects under construction, Alcemi’s Kintore BESS will be progressed in collaboration with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its flagship funds.

CIP and Alcemi partnered in February 2022 with the aim of deploying 4GW of energy storage across the UK.

At the beginning of the year, CIP secured financial investment decisions (FIDs) and issued notice to proceed to commence construction for Alcemi’s 500MW/1000MWh Coalburn 2 BESS in South Lanarkshire, adjacent to its existing Coalburn 1 BESS and the Devilla BESS of the same size in Fife.

By Molly Green.

To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.

Energy Optimisation Solutions gets approval for 100MW/200MWh project in Northeast

Plans for a £62 million energy storage facility with 100MW capacity have been approved for development at the Teesworks Industrial Zone, in the Tees Valley, Northeast England.

The scheme proposed by Energy Optimisation Solutions (EOS) will see the 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) constructed on a three-acre plot at the Long Acres section of the Teesworks site. NatPower is planning a 1GW BESS in the same area of the Teesworks freeport.

A planning application was submitted to the Redcar and Cleveland Council in December 2024. EOS first reached an agreement with Teesworks for the development in July 2024.

The EOS facility adjoins the site where hydrogen production facilities HyGreen Teesside and H2 Teesside, both led by multinational oil and gas company BP, are planned to be built. The Net Zero Teesside project, which aims to be “one of the world’s first” commercial-scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture and storage, is also nearby.

Teesworks Limited chairman Chris Musgrave said battery storage is a “key piece” in the clean energy mix at Teesworks.

EOS director Pete Walker added: “With so much renewable energy development planned for the site, such a supportive environment and such an experienced team in charge, it makes for the perfect location for our next battery storage facility.”

EOS has several battery storage projects already underway in the UK. The energy storage solutions provider is backed by funding from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners; the two are working together on a 230MW/460MWh BESS in Newport South Wales, under their portfolio company Uskmouth Energy Storage (UES). E.ON came on board in March 2024.

By Molly Green.

To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.

Field raises £42 million for UK pipeline buildout

British battery energy storage system (BESS) firm Field has secured new financing to continue building out its UK project pipeline.

The £42 million non-recourse loan from Rabobank and ING will finance the deployment of 125MW of BESS projects across England and Scotland.

The loan covers financing for three 2-hour duration battery storage projects in Whitebirk (25MW), Holmston (50MW) and Drum Farm (50MW). In England, Field Whitebirk, located in Blackburn, Lancashire, is expected to begin operation later this year. North of the border, Field Holmston in Ayr, South Ayrshire, and Field Drum Farm in Keith, Moray will respectively begin operation from 2026 and 2027.

The agreement with ING and Rabobank also covers the use of Gaia, Field’s in-house flexibility platform, for optimising the deployment of all three sites, once operational. Field first launched Gaia at its site in Oldham, Greater Manchester in December 2024, automating its participation in the intraday, wholesale and balancing markets on a day-to-day basis.

The UK has one of the world’s leading BESS markets, and a recent government clean energy action plan forecasts the need for up to 27GW of battery storage by the end of this decade. The current capacity sits at around 5GW.

By Ben Willis.

To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.