Battery Energy Storage System (Bess) Owner and Operator Zenobē has announced that it has taken over a Bess project from developer Innova.
Zenobē has bought the Harker Bess, a 400 MW ready-made development in Low Harker, Cumbria, in a deal of unknown value. The project has been developing by Innova since 2022, whereby the building permit is guaranteed for the site in October 2023.
A connecting date of 2028 is protected for the development and the site will connect to the nearby Harker substation. The companies notice that this location is crucial for solving local grid restrictions, and adds that the completed project will help to lower the costs for energy consumers.
According to Zenobē, the HARKER project can have the opportunity to offer slowness and reactive energy services for the region to manage the needs of the local grid after the dismantling of facilities, including the Heysham -Kerncentradars. The Heysham -core power plants are managed by EDF; Heysham One Power Station will retire in 2027, with Heysham two that followed in 2030.
Zenobē has set an ambitious goal to have 3.6 GW/12GWH from Bess capacity in operation by 2030. To date, the company has had 1.2 GW Bess activa or under construction, including the 200 MW/400MWH Blackhillock Bess in Sathand.
The Blackhillock Development started commercial activities in March This year, the largest battery storage location in Europe and the first to provide stability services to the National Energy System Operator (NESO) will be. The project will continue to grow in the coming months, with an additional 100 MW capacity that is expected to be online in 2026.
The developer also announced this in April Approval was granted for a Bess of up to 200 MW in Coalburn, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Spread over 12 hectares of land, the site will connect to the local Coalburn substation via underground cabling and has granted an early connection date of June 2026.
The global director of Zenobē of Network Infrastructure, Semih Oztreves, called the Harker project “Another milestone when delivering the flexible, resilient energy infrastructure that the UK needs to speed up its transition to Netto Nul”.
Oztreves added that the site reflects the ‘long -term dedication of the company to the development, possession and operation of battery solutions that support the energy transition without dependence on government subsidies’.
