Clearstone Energy completes sale of BESS assets to Foresight Group

Both sites have grid connection dates in 2024 and, together, will store enough electricity to power 215 000 homes for up to two hours, helping the UK energy system to meet peaks in demand and maximise generation from renewable energy assets. The acquisitions add to Foresight Group’s growing portfolio of storage assets further strengthening its position in the UK market.

BESS projects are a critical component of integrated, deeply decarbonised power systems and overall progress towards net zero in the UK. Renewable energy from wind and solar generation contributed over 30% of the UK’s electricity supply in 2022. However, without sufficient electricity storage in the UK, renewable energy generation is taken offline at times when supply exceeds demand, referred to as curtailment, and gas-fired power stations are brought online to meet periods when demand exceeds supply. In 2022, the curtailment of wind generation in the UK not only cost up to £62 million a day in guaranteed generation payments to wind farm operators but also saw clean, low-cost renewable electricity go to waste.

“Large scale wind and solar farms are now generating electricity at half the cost of gas fired power stations. While climate change was the catalyst for the development of renewable energy in the UK, the transition now also brings the promise of lower costs for consumers,” said Ben Pratt, Founder of Clearstone Energy. “These sites and the ones that follow them will enable the UK to take the next step on its journey to a cleaner, lower cost and more secure energy system. The transition from gas-fired power generation to meet the daily peaks in electricity demand to battery energy storage and more renewable energy generation.”

Both projects will be built on land owned by National Grid adjacent to substations on its nationwide high voltage transmission network. The Sundon project will be one of the first sites to connect under the National Grid’s Energy Park programme. This innovative partnership between National Grid and renewable energy developers is designed to quickly and cost-effectively add battery storage to the transmission network to capture the full potential of existing renewable energy generation assets.

The Sundon project is located close to Luton, 25 miles north of London. The site is adjacent to the National Grid 400 kV substation at Sundon on the high voltage transmission line between offshore wind generation in the North of England and the distribution circuit that supplies electricity to London.

The Warley project is located at Upminster on the outskirts of East London. The site is adjacent to the National Grid 275 kV substation at Warley and will connect directly to the London electricity distribution circuit.

Fuad Yusibov, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group, commented: “Battery storage plays a crucial role in supporting the energy transition, a key theme for the next couple of decades. We are pleased to have acquired these projects, which will provide further resilience and stability to the grid amid growing energy security concerns.”

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