Acquisition of a 49MW battery storage project

RNS Number : 4621Y

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund

02 January 2020

 

2 January 2020

 Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC

(the "Company" or the "Fund")

Acquisition of a 49MW grid level battery storage project

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC (LSE: GRID) is pleased to announce that following on from the announcement on 21 October 2019 it has now completed its investment in the 49MW battery-only project known as Red Scar (the "Project").  The Project, which is located on the Red Scar Business Park, by the Longridge Road and the M6 outside Preston, was acquired for a total enterprise value of approximately £32.8 million (inclusive of £1.0m of deferred consideration, payable in 12 months, subject to the Project achieving EBITDA targets). This is one of the exclusivity portfolio projects identified by the Company in its IPO prospectus published in October 2018.

The Project is connected to the distribution network and the "G99" commissioning tests have been successfully completed; the project was handed over on 31 December 2019. The Project generates its revenues primarily from asset optimisation (whereby it imports and exports power in order to earn income from the wholesale market and the National Grid-administered Balancing Mechanism). As such, the Fund's Manager, Gresham House Asset Management, believes that the Project is aligned to the Company's investment criteria since it enables the Fund to implement its asset optimisation business model, which existing and future sites are also expected to adopt over time.

The Project has been acquired from a vehicle owned by Gresham House DevCo Limited and Noriker Power Limited (together, the "Developers").

Current Portfolio

The acquisition increases the total capacity of operational utility-scale battery storage projects in the Fund's investment portfolio to 174MW.

Project	Location	MW
Staunch	Staffordshire	20
Rufford	Nottinghamshire	7
Lockleaze	Bristol	15
Littlebrook	Kent	8
Roundponds	Wiltshire	20
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	5
Glassenbury	Kent	40
Cleator Moor	Cumbria	10
Red Scar	Lancashire	49
Total		174

Following the completion of the Red Scar acquisition, the Fund expects to acquire a further three projects in the coming months after they have been commissioned and become operational. These three projects, two of 50MW each and one being the Littlebrook extension of 5MW, will increase the Fund's total operational portfolio to 279MW. It is currently possible that commencement of operations of the two larger projects moves into early Q2 2020 if winter conditions prove unaccommodating to a smooth construction and commissioning process.

John Leggate CBE, Chairman of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC said:

"We are delighted to conclude a further acquisition so soon after the purchase of operational facilities totalling 50MW from VLC Energy, as announced in December. We look forward to integrating all these new assets into the Fund's portfolio and adding further projects in H1 2020".

For further information, please contact:

Gresham House New Energy Ben Guest	[phone]
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Richard Harris Robert Peel Alan Ray	[phone] [phone] [phone]
KL Communications Charles Gorman Camilla Esmund Alex Hogan	[e-mail] [phone]

About the Company and the Manager:

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc owns a portfolio of utility-scale operational energy storage systems (known as ESS) located in Great Britain. The portfolio has a total capacity of 174MW. The Company is managed by Gresham House Asset Management Limited under the leadership of Ben Guest. The Company was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (Specialist Fund Segment) on 13 November 2018 having raised £100 million of gross proceeds from investors. Including issuance under the Placing Programme, it has now raised a total of approximately £202 million of gross proceeds from investors.

The Gresham House New Energy team has a proven track record in developing and operating energy storage and other renewable assets having developed 124MW of Energy Storage Systems and approximately 290MW of predominantly ground-mounted solar projects. Gresham House Asset Management currently manages approximately 200MW of solar and wind energy projects.

Gresham House Asset Management is the FCA authorised operating business of Gresham House plc, a London Stock Exchange quoted specialist alternative asset manager. Gresham House is committed to operating responsibly and sustainably, taking the long view in delivering sustainable investment solutions.

www.greshamhouse.com

Definition of Utility-scale battery Storage Systems

Utility-scale battery storage systems are the enabling infrastructure that will support the continued growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, essential to the UK's stated target to reduce carbon emissions. They store excess energy generated by renewable energy sources and then release that stored energy back into the grid during peak hours when there is increased demand.

 

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