UK battery storage capacity to be boosted by £200m venture

Specialist energy storage trust NextEnergy Solar Fund has announced a £200m venture with sustainable electricity firm Eelpower to strengthen the UK’s battery storage capacity.

The company’s first 50MW battery storage project through the joint venture is currently under construction in Fife, Scotland, and is expected to grid-connected in the first half of 2023.

“Battery storage is a vital technology in increasing the penetration of renewables in the UK,” NextEnergy chairman Kevin Lyon said in a statement.

He added that the company has “created a unique opportunity to become a key player in this space, whilst enhancing the existing portfolio of solar assets.”

NextEnergy CEO, Michael Bonte-Friedheim, said that the venture will “further enhance the UK’s energy independence”, as the cost of oil and gas in the country and across Europe continues to spiral amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The pair announced another partnership in September last year, worth £100m, which also sought to increase the UK’s battery storage capacity.

Both ventures, which are currently subject to shareholder and Financial Conduct authority (FCA) approval, are actively pursuing a pipeline of over 500MW – or £300m – worth of battery energy storage opportunities.