Zenobē, a leading UK owner and operator of grid-scale battery storage, today announced the acquisition of a 400MW ready-to-build battery energy storage system (BESS) in Low Harker, Cumbria, from Innova, one of the largest developers of renewable energy and data centres in the UK.
The site has a 2028 connection date, and the acquisition demonstrates Zenobē’s continuing commitment to help deliver on the UK’s ambitious goal of having 25GW of BESS capacity by 2030, up from 6GW today. This acquisition aligns with Zenobē’s strategy to focus on transmission connected assets with over 200MW capacity and was enabled following the government’s decision to continue with a national rather than a zonal approach to electricity pricing.
Innova has been developing the site since 2022 and achieved planning consent for the project in October 2023. The transaction was advised by JLL, who also acted as financial advisor to Innova alongside TLT and Foot Anstey as legal advisors. Zenobē was supported by Pinsent Masons and Natural Power on the legal and technical aspects of the project respectively.
The Harker substation location is key for power flows and solving locational constraints, ultimately reducing costs for consumers. The Harker project will have the capability to provide inertia and reactive power services which are required to help manage the network in the region following the retirement of plants such as the Heysham nuclear power station.
In addition to enhancing the security of the network, the project has committed, in-line with Innova’s Community Promise, to a series of community and charitable benefit schemes designed to support local organisations and initiatives. These arrangements which will now be delivered by Zenobē, involve Rockcliffe and Westlinton Parish Councils, Rockcliffe Community Centre, and The Country Trust. The funding is intended to contribute to community wellbeing and charitable objectives over the life of the project.
Zenobē is following its strategy of developing, owning and operating transmission-scale assets to enhance the security of Britain’s energy network and reduce consumer bills. The acquisition of the Harker site represents a significant step towards the business’ goal of having c.3.5GW / 12GWh of BESS in operation by 2030.
The project will draw on Zenobē’s experience implementing grid-forming inverters as seen at its Blackhillock site in Scotland – Europe’s largest battery project at the time of going live. This means the site can participate in multiple market “stacking” services, allowing Zenobē to provide several strategic contributions to the GB grid – ensuring the lights stay on, the cost of energy stays down, and the grid doesn’t waste the renewable energy available.
Commenting, Zenobē’s Global Director of Network Infrastructure Semih Oztreves said, “Over the coming months, our team will be building our Route to Market and procurement strategy and look forward to engaging with the market on this. The site reflects our long-term commitment to developing, owning and operating battery solutions that support the energy transition without reliance on government subsidies.”
Commenting on behalf of Innova, Daniel Mushin (Chief Investment Officer) and Jon Sheppard (Investment Manager) said, “The Harker project demonstrates how our development expertise has been helping to unlock clean energy infrastructure, and we’re delighted to continue working with Zenobē to accelerate the deployment of transmission scale BESS across the UK.”
