14 April 2020
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC
(the "Company", "Fund" or "GRID")
Further acquisition of large utility-scale battery storage project
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc (LSE: GRID) has conditionally agreed to acquire a 50MW battery project located near Wickham Market, Suffolk ("Wickham") (the "Project"). The Project is part of the exclusivity pipeline identified in the Company's October 2018 IPO prospectus.
Wickham is a battery-only site with a 50MW/40MW export/import capacity which is currently expected to be commissioned over summer 2020. The exact commissioning date may be impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions, and therefore remains subject to change. The Project is expected to generate 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).
The Project will be acquired from Gresham House DevCo Limited and Noriker Power Ltd (together, the "Developers").
Current Portfolio
Once completed, the acquisition increases the total capacity of operational utility-scale battery storage projects in the Fund's investment portfolio to 274MW (including the Thurcroft project which was announced on 20 March 2020).
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 |
Thurcroft |
South Yorkshire |
50 |
Wickham |
Suffolk |
50 |
Total |
|
274 |
John Leggate CBE, Chairman of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc said:
"We are delighted to have agreed to acquire our second 50MW utility-scale project which is near Wickham Market in Suffolk, only a few weeks after we announced the intention to purchase Thurcroft in South Yorkshire. Our storage portfolio now spans 10 counties across the country and continues to be the largest of its type in the UK.
"The Gresham House New Energy team continues to deliver on our plans and we look forward to making further announcements as we continue to build out our portfolio."
For further information, please contact:
Gresham House New Energy
|
|
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe |
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KL Communications |
gh@kl-communications.com
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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 £237 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 195MW 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.
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 for it.