Solar energy and infrastructure investor NextPower UK ESG (NPUK) has acquired a 29MW, 2-hour standalone battery energy storage (BESS) system in Glasgow.
The turnkey project, called Rutherglen, is NPUK’s 13e British takeover and the third takeover in November. NPUK is a ten-year closed-end private fund launched by NextEnergy Capital, an international solar investment and asset manager.
NPUK focuses on acquiring utility-scale solar and BESS assets in the ready-to-build phase, and building projects to develop a large operating portfolio.
The Rutherglen BESS will have access to multiple transmission interfaces between Scotland and England, allowing it to provide constraint management services to the National Energy System Operator (NESO) through the balancing mechanism. Augmentation could allow the system to increase its capacity in the future.
Dario Hernandez, head of battery storage at NextEnergy Capital, commented: “The improvements in NESO’s shipping capabilities, along with impressive lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology and cost improvements, provide an excellent starting point for monetizing standalone storage in the deep and liquid world. wholesale market. We continue to see BESS as a highly complementary asset to a solar energy portfolio.”
COO and head of investments for NextEnergy Capital, Ross Grier, added that the investment in Rutherglen marks NPUK’s first standalone BESS project, “representing a significant milestone for the fund”.
NPUK’s portfolio now includes 49 MW of battery capacity, while the total BESS capacity of all NextEnergy Capital funds exceeds 700 MW, including both operational and turnkey projects. The British investor is actively fundraising and has secured approximately £683 million. Solar energy portal reported that NPUK had secured funding from an unnamed UK defined benefit pension scheme.
NPUK is backed by the UK Infrastructure Bank and has already received investment from the UK’s public pension pool, the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership. Local authority pension schemes in the UK, including LGPS Central, the Merseyside Pension Fund and the Brunel Pension Partnership, previously contributed to the closure of NPUK ESG.
In June this year it powered its third utility-scale solar project, the 24MW Pentlow project in Essex, bringing its operational solar capacity to 139MW. In October, NextPower UK ESG signed one of the largest recorded power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the Llanwern solar power station in South Wales.
Anglian Water Services signed a 20-year inflation-linked agreement with NPUK, covering 90% of the electricity from the project and all associated Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates.
In November, the fund acquired the 18.5MW Locks Solar Farm in Hampshire, marking its 11th edition.e utility-scale solar project, bringing the total capacity of its portfolio to more than 500 MW.
