Battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Fidra Energy has reached financial close on its 500 MW/1.1 GWh West Burton C battery energy storage system (BESS).
The Nottinghamshire project is on the site of the former West Burton coal-fired power station. Construction will begin later this year, Fidra said, and the project is expected to be fully operational in 2028.
A group of international lenders have committed loan facilities of £231 million, combined with support from the EIG Fidra Energy foundedand the UK National Wealth Fund (NWF).
When Fidra reached financial close on its 1.4 GW/3.1 GWh Thorpe Marsh BESSthe largest such project in Britain, the NWF has committed up to £200 million of equity to fund the construction of both that project and the West Burton C projects. It was not disclosed what portion of the funding will go to each of them.
Manufacturer Sungrow will supply batteries for the project, and H&MV Engineering will be the lead designer and contractor for the 400 kV grid connection, electrical scheme and for the installation and commissioning of the Sungrow battery systems.
Fidra has a 15-year capacity market contract for the site, starting in October 2028. Early this year it signed a long-term offtake agreement with Drax Group for 50% of the project’s capacity.
Company CEO Chris Elder said in a statement interview with our colleagues Energy storage.news that the company aims for half of its capacity to generate contracted revenues over a period of up to ten years after commercial operation.
“We are private equity owned, our investors want to individually finance projects and achieve gearing, which is 60-70% of capex. That requires finding the right balance in offtake, and 50% of contracts is the key for now to reach that level,” Elder said.
Walid Mouawad, global head of energy transition at EID, said the funding “demonstrates the deep institutional appetite for high-quality battery storage infrastructure and the sector’s role in supporting a more flexible energy system.”
The approach Fidra is taking appears to be the right one as listed funds financing BESS assets have fallen on hard times recently. Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF) last week posted a big drop in net asset value (NAV) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, And NextEnergy Solar Fund is putting itself up for sale after an attempt to diversify into energy storage as a revenue source seemingly failed.
