Foresight Group has acquired the 35MW Port of Tyne battery storage project from RES. It is one of the largest projects to win a four-year enhanced frequency response (EFR) contract from National Grid.
The Port of Tyne battery also has a 12 year capacity market contract.
The infrastructure and private equity management firm has some £2.6bn in assets under management and has considerable renewable assets, including 80 solar PV projects and 28 energy from waste investments, collectively generating over 1GW of power.
RES will construct and operate the plant and is set to fully commission early in 2018.
“The acquisition consolidates Foresight’s position as a leader in investing both in renewable energy generation and the flexible grid infrastructure required to accommodate increasing penetration of renewables, such as energy storage. We are delighted to have worked alongside RES to reach financial close on this pioneering project which sets an exciting precedent for the integration of battery storage into the UK energy system,” said Dan Wells, partner at Foresight.
RES managing director, Rachel Ruffle, said: “Energy storage has a crucial role to play in delivering a flexible electricity network to support the UK’s economic growth and enable more low cost, renewable energy to be used. As a leader in the energy storage market RES prides itself in delivering projects that meet the needs of our clients and society. RES is proud to be working with Foresight, as it expands its infrastructure investments into energy storage. We look forward to building and operating a successful storage project at the Port of Tyne.”
Battery storage projects, particularly those with four-year EFR contracts, are proving popular investments. Italian utility Enel last month acquired the 25MW Tynemouth stand-alone battery storage project from Element Power. However, most of the other EFR contract holders are utilities, so are less likely to sell.
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