© Supplied by Statera Energy/DCT Media In this week’s Charging Forward, Alcemi has secured consent from the Scottish government for its 300 MW Kintore battery storage project in Aberdeenshire.
Statera Energy has lodged an appeal after its 500 MW East Claydon battery storage project was refused planning permission, and more.
Eku Energy has secured £145 million in financing to build its latest UK battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.
Elsewhere, the Scottish government has approved two BESS projects in Aberdeenshire and Midlothian, while Highview Power has submitted plans for a 200 MW liquid air energy storage (LAES) in Ayrshire.
In addition, UK firm Connected Energy has partnered with French electric bus battery manufacturer Forsee Power to develop grid-scale storage facilities using repurposed vehicle batteries.
This week’s energy storage headlines:
- Alcemi secures consent for 300 MW Kintore BESS
- Statera Energy appeals 500 MW East Claydon BESS planning refusal
- Eku Energy secures £145m for new grid-scale battery storage
- DNV projects fourfold increase in UK battery storage by 2030
- Island Green Power’s 105 MW Kinmuck BESS approved
- Buccleuch estate plans for 200 MW Salters battery storage approved
- Highview Power submits plans for Ayrshire liquid air energy storage
- Connected Energy developing grid-scale storage from electric bus batteries
- Elmya Energy submits plans for Shropshire BESS
- International energy storage news: Octopus Energy invests in 2 GW pipeline of solar and battery storage projects in Germany
UK energy storage news
Alcemi secures consent for 300 MW Kintore BESS
UK battery storage developer Alcemi has secured consent from the Scottish government for its 300 MW Kintore Energy Storage Facility BESS project in Aberdeenshire.
The project is located approximately 3km to the east of the existing Kintore substation on land south of Tofthills Avenue.
Following the approval, Alcemi estimates the Kintore project will come online by October 2029.
According to the company’s website, the Kintore BESS will have the capacity to power up to 110,000 average UK homes.
The project is one of several battery storage projects Alcemi is developing in Scotland.
Alongside the Kintore BESS, Alcemi is also partnering with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the combined 1.5 GW Coalburn and Coalburn 2 BESS projects near Glasgow as well as the 500 MW Devila project in Fife.
Alcemi is also developing further BESS projects near Peterhead in Scotland and Bramford in southern England.
Statera Energy appeals East Claydon BESS refusal
UK hydrogen and battery storage developer Statera Energy has lodged an appeal after its plans for a 500 MW BESS project in England were refused planning permission.
Statera lodged plans for its East Claydon BESS, located near the village of Granborough, with Buckinghamshire Council in December 2023.
The project involved the construction of around 500 storage containers on 33 acres of land near the East Claydon substation.
But the plans received around 900 objections from local residents, including opposition from local Conservative MP Greg Smith.
In December last year, a council committee refused the plans on the grounds of a “significant adverse impact on visual amenity and on the landscape character at the site”.
© Supplied by Statera EnergyEarlier this year, Statera lodged an appeal against the decision to refuse planning permission.
In its appeal, Statera outlined the benefits of the proposed BESS, including construction jobs and the ability to store electricity to power more than 540,000 homes.
The company said that it considers that “on planning balance there is a significant need for the proposal” and that its benefits “clearly outweigh the impacts”.
Energy Voice contacted Statera Energy for comment on the appeal. Alongside battery storage, Statera is also progressing major green hydrogen and pumped hydro storage projects in Scotland.
Eku Energy secures £145m for UK battery storage projects
Battery storage developer Eku Energy has secured £145m in financing to fund new grid-scale battery storage projects in the UK.
Eku said the new financing includes more than £45m in debt financing from NatWest Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for a West Midlands BESS project.
The 99 MW Ocker Hill BESS project, near the towns of Dudley and Wednesbury, is situated near the site of the former coal-fired power station which closed in 1977.
Eku said construction at Ocker Hill, the company’s fourth BESS project to start construction, will begin next month with commissioning expected in late 2026.
NatWest and SMBC will also provide a further £100m finance facility to fund the company’s other near-term projects in the UK.
These include some of the projects Eku recently acquired as part of its takeover of Bluestone Energy’s UK BESS portfolio.
DNV projects fourfold increase in UK battery storage by 2030
UK battery storage will experience a fourfold increase of its capacity in power terms by 2030, according to DNV.
In its latest UK Energy Transition Outlook 2025 report, DNV said the UK BESS market has rebounded following a “sense of nervousness” in 2023.
The industry has adjusted to lower revenues as equipment costs continue to fall, which DNV said “will continue to create efficiencies and reduce development and construction costs”.
“Looking forward, battery storage continues its exponential growth path with a fourfold increase of the capacity in power terms expected by 2030, fuelled by larger transmission connected projects alongside the smaller traditional distribution connected ones,” the report continued.
© Image: Invinity Energy Systems“Beyond this point, battery storage will compete with alternative technologies to satisfy the longer duration storage space.”
These include technologies such as pumped hydro, flow batteries, compressed air and liquid air energy storage systems, which the government is supporting through a cap and floor revenue mechanism.
As longer duration technologies develop, DNV said lithium-ion batteries “may still have a role to play” while the “economics drive longer duration technologies towards a viable commercial model”.
In addition, DNV expects sodium-based batteries to play a “complementing role”.
Meanwhile, multi-day storage and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems incorporating distributed electric vehicle batteries will also play an increasingly important role, DNV said.
“We assume that from 2035, 8% of the entire EV fleet’s batteries will be available to provide flexibility at any time through V2G,” the report states.
“By mid-century, V2G systems in the UK will provide more than 50% of the total throughput from battery storage, equivalent to 28 TWh/yr.”
Island Green Power’s 200 MW Kinmuck BESS approved
UK battery storage developer Island Green Power (IGP) has secured planning permission for a 105 MW BESS project in Aberdeenshire.
The Scottish government approved plans for the site, located approximately 6km north of Ellon close to Kintore to Peterhead overhead transmission line.
IGP estimates the Kinmuck BESS will reduce CO2 emissions by around 56,000 tonnes per year and have the capacity to power just over 82,000 homes.
The planning approval for Kinmuck comes shortly after Australian asset management firm Macquarie acquired 100% of IGP.
Buccleuch estate plans for 200 MW Salters BESS approved
Scottish property investment and development firm Buccleuch Group has secured planning permission for a 200 MW BESS project near Dalkeith in Mildothian.
Owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, the company manages the Boughton, Queensberry and Borders estates alongside Dalkeith Country Park.
Under the Salters BESS plans, Buccleuch will develop 200 MW of lithium-ion battery grid storage on farmland close to Salters Road and the Smeaton substation.
According to planning documents, Buccleuch estimates the project will create around 35 full-time jobs and comprise around 168 stacked battery storage units.
Construction is expected to take around 18 months, with the BESS planned to have an operating life of 40 years.
Buccleuch is also behind plans for a pumped storage hydro system at the site of a former coal mine at Glenmuckloch in the Scottish borders.
Investment fund Foresight Group invested in the 1.6 GWh project in 2022, which also incorporates a 33.6 MW onshore wind farm.
Highview Power submits Hunterston LAES plans
Highview Power has submitted initial plans to the Scottish government for a 200 MW/2.5 GWh LAES on land at the former Hunterston coal terminal in Ayrshire.
Plans for the Scottish project were revealed after Highview raised £300 million for a 50 MW/300 MWh demonstration project near Manchester last year.
The Hunterston LAES is the first project in Highview’s second phase, which involves building four LAES projects across Scotland and northern England.
© Supplied by Highview PowerOwned by Peel Ports, the Hunterston site is also the location for a planned subsea cable manufacturing facility put forward by XLCC.
According to planning documents, Highview estimates the Hunterston site will require between seven and 10 skilled workers to maintain the plant once operational.
Connected Energy reusing bus batteries for grid-scale storage
UK battery storage developer Connected Energy has announced plans to develop grid-scale energy storage projects based on repurposed electric bus batteries.
Newcastle-headquartered Connected Energy said it plans to combine its “second life technology” with Forsee Power’s electric bus batteries.
Forsee’s batteries are deployed in about 1,500 buses across Europe.
The partnership agreement also includes the development of an operating model to facilitate future large-scale commercial deployment, Connected Energy said.
Connected Energy chief executive Matthew Lumsden said the Forsee Power deal is a “significant step forward” in delivering a new second life economy for EV batteries.
“The availability of second life batteries is increasing rapidly and the best way to realise the value in them is through partnerships that span the value chain,” Lumsden said.
© Supplied by Connected Energy“By combining our expertise, we can deliver energy storage technology that delivers greater environmental and commercial benefits as the flow of batteries increases.”
Forsee Power chairman and chief executive Christophe Gurtner said the company is aiming to develop a sustainable battery ecosystem.
Gurtner said the company has equipped more than 4,200 buses with batteries, making it the leader of battery systems for buses outside of China.
“Thus, we have and will have access to a significant number of batteries once they complete their first life. As a consequence, the potential is huge,” he said.
The partnership will initially develop a 2.5 MWh system in the UK by the end of 2025, with plans to develop further projects in excess of 25 MWh in both the UK and France.
Swedish multinational Volvo Group acquired 10% of Connected Energy in 2022 for SEK 50m (£3.8m).
Elmya Energy submits plans for Shropshire BESS
Spanish firm Elmya Energy has submitted plans for a 300 MW BESS near the site of the former Rednal airfield to Shropshire Council.
Elmya is developing a 4 GW battery storage portfolio in the UK in a joint venture alongside Renewable Power Capital, a subsidiary of Canadian firm CPP Investments.
Speaking to the BBC about the plans earlier this year, Elmya UK development director James Innes said the Rednal BESS is an “essential step” towards decarbonising the UK economy.
The progress on the Rednal BESS project comes after Elmya submitted plans for its 252 MW Desborough BESS in April.
International energy storage news
Octopus Energy in 2 GW German solar and battery project pipeline
UK energy firm Octopus Energy has announced a deal to acquire over 2 GW of German solar and storage projects.
Octopus said its acquisition of Hamburg-based MN projects GmbH marks its ninth investment in Germany in less than three years.
MN is developing over 70 renewable energy sites across Germany, with a focus on coal-dependant regions like Saxony and Lower Saxony.
Altogether, Octopus said MN projects will deliver enough solar energy to power 500,000 German homes.
In addition, the investment will also unlock battery storage capacity for an additional 150,000 homes, Octopus said.
Octopus Energy Generation chief executive Zoisa North-Bond said the acquisition of MN will help accelerate Germany’s shift from fossil fuels to solar energy and battery storage.
“These solutions will power German homes sustainably for years whilst helping to balance the grid, driving a greener future for the country and beyond,” North-Bond said.
Charging Forward, bringing you the latest in UK and international energy storage news, is kindly sponsored by ABB BESS-as-a-Service.
