SSE Energy Markets has concluded a deal with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to optimize two battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects in Scotland.
SSE Energy Markets will optimize the 500 MW Devilla project, located in Kincardine, near FIFE, as well as the 500 MW Coalburn 2 project in South Lanarkshire. SSE Energy Markets had previously agreed to optimize COPs Coalburn 1, the first phase of 500 MW of the Coalburn development, which is on top of a former coal mine.
Both projects are developed by CIP in collaboration with Bess developer Alcemi, and both have made final investment decisions in January of this year.
The development of Devilla received the planning stamp by the Scottish government in December 2023. The project is expected to be online in October 2027, whereby construction is expected to start soon, according to Alcemi.
In the meantime, the Coalburn 2 project received the building permit in January 2024 and is expected to reach full commercial activities by August 2027. The first phase of the Coalburn Development, Coalburn 1, is expected to be online in October this year.
Both assets will be optimized via the SSE Energy Markets improvement platform and, according to SSE energy markets, will be traded on various schedule flexibility and wholesaler markets. The deal also wants to offer income stability for CIP by establishing a ‘floor price’ for the ten -year period that the deal covers, so that a minimum income is guaranteed for CIP.
This is not the first time that CIP and SSEEVERGIMARDS have worked together. The two companies have previously worked together on the Slough Multifuel Energy-From-waste facility, which was developed by companies under a 50-50 joint venture and started commercial activities last year. The two companies also develop together with the Ossian Commercial-Scale Floating Offshore Wind Project, located off the Scottish coast, in a joint venture near Marubeni Corporation.
Gordon Bell, director of SSE Energy Markets, noted that this latest optimization -deal Sse -Energiemmarkten makes responsible for optimizing a combined 1.5 GW Bess capacity on behalf of CIP. He stated that “SSE has built up a strong and sustainable relationship with CIP that still generates significant value”, and added that the company’s expertise can maximize the role that these assets will play in supporting the grid.
Malcom Paterson, commercial director of Bess at CIP, agreed, adding that the deal makes the use of cheap clean energy possible at a much faster pace.
