Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy Statkraft has signed a trade and optimization service agreement with EKU Energy.
The deal surrounds EKU Energy’s Loudwater Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a Bess development of 40 MW/55MWH that is currently under construction. Statkraft will provide optimization and trade services for the development of Loudwater Bess if it is submitted on behalf of, which is expected to take place in mid-2025.
Initial plans for the Loudwater Bess, which is located near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, were announced at the beginning of 2023. Construction started in the project in February last year, simultaneously with the Basildon Bess of Eku Energy, construction also started.
Eku Energy currently has 4.6 GWH projects in development, construction and operation in the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy and Japan, and has set the objective to deliver 9GWH Bess capacity by 2028.
This deal brings the contracted capacity of Statkraft in its British flexible generation and battery storage optimization portfolio to approximately 2.7 GW. The company launched its flexible generation -optimization and trade services activities in 2018.
Nick Heyward, the head of the storage of Statkraft for Markets in the VK and Ireland said that the company would like to enter into a new partnership with EKU Energy, which says: “Through our flexible asset optimization options and innovative battery departmental solutions we look forward to supporting EKUWater.”
In the meantime, Elias Saba, Chief Technology Officer at Eku Energy Stakraft praised for their role in the deal, and noted: “During our involvement, Statkraft demonstrated their advanced optimization opportunities and innovative trade offerings”.
Large year for Eku energy
This announcement comes less than ten days after Eku Energy has announced that it had greatly expanded its Bess development pipeline in the UK.
Earlier this month, Eku Energy received seven planned Bess projects from renewable energy company Bluestone Energy with a combined pipeline capacity of 1GW/2GWH. These include a 98 MW/196MWH project in Leatherhead, Surrey, the 98 MW/196MWH Sturts Farm Project in Dorset and two 240 MW projects in Ninfield, East Sussex and Rochester in Kent.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of this year and marks the next step in the long -term cooperation of Eku Energy and Bluestone Energy. The two companies have worked together since 2022 under a Joint Development Agreement (JDA), so that the companies can be jointly identified and plan progress for Bess developments, that Eku Energy Construct and Build.