Business utility SmartestEnergy has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) for four UK solar and storage projects with developer AGR Renewables, all backed by Contracts for Difference (CfD).
The four CfD-backed PPAs cover the solar portions of AGR’s Eaton Socon, Little Hale, Priory Generation and Wymondley projects, located in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Hertfordshire, totaling 192 MW of solar PV capacity.
The projects also include an undisclosed amount of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity, although this is not covered by the PPAs.
These are the four projects awarded under the UK Government’s CfD Allocation Round 7 (AR7). AGR said at the time that the CfDs covered 146.1 MW of capacity at an exercise price of £65.23/MWh. CfDs offer renewable projects in Britain with a minimum guaranteed turnover, backed by the government.
The agreements with SmartestEnergy provide AGR with a route-to-market for its projects, from commissioning to the end of the CfD term. The announcement did not make it clear when the projects would come online: only Wymondley is listed on AGR’s site and there is no target date for commissioning. Eaton Socon was acquired from Cambridge Power last year and should already be under construction.
John Collier, Investment Director at AGR Renewables, said: “A reliable and flexible route to market for PPA is crucial for projects of this size, and finding the right partner required a deliberate approach. We needed to find a partner who could combine strong pricing with deep market expertise, and help us navigate the complexities of bringing large transmission-connected solar sites online.”
SmartestEnergy is owned by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni, while AGR is backed by investor Railpen.
SmartestEnergy has been very active in signing PPAs and tolls with renewable energy operators and BESS owners over the past year. It has signed a similar CfD endorsement PPAs with AlphaReal And Low carbon contentplus one BESS toll with Eku Energy.
