Another edition of news in brief, focusing on the UK market with Wärtsilä, Canadian Solar, Gresham House and Eku Energy.
Wärtsilä deal for Zenobe’s Scottish island project
Technology group Wärtsila has announced that it will supply a 68MW BESS contract to Zenobe for the Lerwick Power Station project in Lerwick, Shetland. The project will allow the 72.8MW diesel-fired Lerwick Power Station, Shetland’s biggest power generator, to move into a standby role. It will also allow more power to be integrated from nearby wind developments.
The Shetland Standby Project is set to go live in 2026. Wärtsila said the system will feature Distribution Fault Ride Through (DFRT) capabilities and standby solution services to support the islands’ main interconnector.
The project is the third in the UK contracted to Wärtsila by developer-investor Zenobe, the others are the 200MW/400MWh grid-forming Blackhillock project which went live earlier this year and the 300MW/600MWh Kilmarnock project currently in development. All three are in Scotland.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- 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
Canadian Solar, EDF hired for 240MWh project in Wales
Renewable energy developer SAE has agreed supply and construction contracts for the Uskmouth BESS in South Wales.
The Uskmouth BESS, which will form part of the Uskmouth Sustainable Energy Park, will have a 240MWh capacity with the ability to expand to 480MWh in the coming years. SAE has now signed contracts with Canadian Solar, which will supply the BESS units for the Uskmouth development. Under the development, Canadian Solar has also committed to supplying a total of 1.1GWh of BESS equipment for two future SAE projects, the Mey BESS and AW3.
Construction has now begun on the Uskmouth BESS, which is set to connect to the grid in October 2026 and begin full commercial operations in Q1 2027. Construction is being completed by local firm Jones Bros, which has previously worked on other green energy projects at the Uskmouth site.
Additionally, SAE has entered into a 12-year floored revenue optimisation agreement with EDF. EDF will optimise the BESS assets for a 12-year period from the date at which commercial operations begin.
By Kit Million Ross
Read the full versions of the above stories at Solar Power Portal.
Gresham House becomes first in UK to reach 1GW of operational capacity
The portfolio operated by UK utility-scale BESS investor Gresham House Energy Storage Fund has reached 1GW operational capacity.
This makes Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) the first UK company to reach 1GW operational BESS assets.
Completion of the UK fund’s 1,072MW/1,1701MWh portfolio was completed with the energisation of its second-largest asset, the 87MW/174MWh West Bradford BESS on 7 August.
This closely followed the 40MW/80MWh Shilton Lane project, sited near Glasgow, coming online in July. Since releasing its 2024 interim results, GRID has delivered 282MW and 770MWh of operational assets.
In June, it completed a third-party equity funding of £8.6 million (US$11.57 million) to finance the augmentation of the combined 50MW Glassenbury projects to a 2.2-hour duration, due to be completed in December this year.
Fund manager Ben Guest committed the investment firm to undertake another seven augmentations in 2025 and early 2026, funded by GRID’s debt refinancing. In the run-up to the capacity milestone, GRID has been focused on ensuring income from its assets, through funding agreements and augmentation.
By Molly Green
Read the full version of this story on Solar Power Portal.
Eku Energy commissions 130MWh at two projects
Battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Eku Energy has announced that it has successfully commissioned two BESS projects in the UK.
The Basildon BESS, located near Basildon, Essex, and the Loudwater BESS, located in Buckinghamshire, have a combined 130MWh capacity. The Loudwater BESS has a 39MW/55MWh capacity, and the Basildon BESS, which is Eku Energy’s first 2-hour duration battery, has a 28MW/56MWh capacity. Both projects use NHOA Energy’s BESS technology, which marks NHOA’s entry into the UK BESS market.
The systems began construction in February of 2024, after Eku Energy and NHOA announced their partnership for the project in July of 2023. More recently, NHOA Energy has also made supply agreements with fellow developer Statkraft, having agreed to supply BESS units for Statkraft’s 113MWh Coylton BESS in Scotland.
Under separate long-term service agreements, NHOA Energy will also provide ongoing operations and maintenance services for both the Basildon and Loudwater BESS sites.
Eku Energy currently has an expansive portfolio, with over 4GWh of BESS projects around the world currently in development, construction, or operation. These include five major projects in Australia, two in Japan, and four in the UK.
By Kit Million Ross.
Read the full version of this story on Solar Power Portal.
