Solar investment company NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has joined with energy storage company, Eelpower in a £100 million joint venture partnership which has signed its first acquisition of a 50MW standalone utility scale battery energy storage project.
The 50MW storage project is a ready-to-build, standalone battery, located in Fife, expected to be in operation in 2022.
The £ partnership which will be financed by NESF and the joint venture is owned 70% by NESF and 30% by Eelpower.
Eelpower, which has been active in the UK storage market since 2015, will manage construction and provide ongoing asset management services for the Fife project and will source further storage projects for the joint venture to acquire.
The joint venture with Eelpower is of strategic importance to NESF as it includes a framework for the acquisition of up to 250MW (including the Fife project) of battery storage.
Kevin Lyon, Chairman of NextEnergy Solar Fund said: “The board and I are delighted to announce NESF’s significant move into energy storage, forming an important part of NESF’s future growth plans. The joint venture lays the foundations and provides momentum for NESF’s pipeline of energy storage assets whilst also ensuring collaboration with a specialist partner, Eelpower, in operating these assets. NESF is now demonstrably progressing its exciting growth strategy both in UK energy storage and international expansion of its portfolio of solar projects.”