Carlton Power and Stag Energy are to merge. The combined business will focus on energy storage and grid stability services, including providing system inertia, reactive power and short circuit capacity. It is also developing a portfolio of green hydrogen production projects across the UK in addition to Carlton Carbon, the company’s new carbon advisory business. The company will operate as part of the Carlton Power Group and includes key personnel including Carlton’s founder Keith Clarke and George Grant, the founder of Stag Energy.
Carlton is presently leading the development of the Trafford Energy Park in Manchester which so far includes: plans for 50MW/250MWh of liquid air energy storage with Highview Power; a 200MW hydrogen electrolyser and commercial hydrogen hub for transport and heating (Trafford Green Hydrogen); and a 250MWe battery. The Trafford site also includes the proposed 2GW Trafford CCGT which won development consent in 2010 with the potential to operate on hydrogen, or on natural gas with carbon capture. Carlton is also looking to expand its Langage Energy Park, near Plymouth, to incorporate energy storage and electrolysers.
Stag, based in Edinburgh, is currently progressing projects in support of National Grid’s Pathfinder process. The team originated and secured development consent orders for four OCGT projects in England and Wales, and which were acquired by Drax Group in 2019. Stag has also developed an embedded portfolio of small-scale generation units in recent years.
George Grant said: “The combined company intends to capitalise on the continuing growth in the market for distributed low carbon energy projects and to continue to deliver quality investment opportunities for both strategic and financial partners.”
Keith Clarke said: “Our combined capabilities provide an unparalleled track record of successfully identifying, developing and delivering major infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe. Over the past 30 years, the team has delivered more than 6GW of both thermal and renewables generation. Importantly, looking ahead there are a range of business opportunities that we see to be vital for the UK energy system to safely navigate its way towards Net Zero.”