The 47.5MW Sambar Power battery project at the Indian Queens substation in Cornwall has changed ownership. Varco Energy a UK-based battery storage asset owner and operator, has acquired it from Carlton Power Ltd, an independent UK energy infrastructure development company.
Carlton Power secured planning consent for Sambar in October 2022 and Varco Energy will now begin work to develop the battery asset with the intention to bring it online by Q2 2025.
Varco Energy acquired two battery projects in October 2023 that are expected to come online this year. They are Native River (57MW/138MWh) south of Liverpool and Sizing John (57MW/138MWh) near St Helens.
It is backed by Adaptogen Capital, which says it is investing in new energy storage asset classes, as well as those from distributed energy and demand side response markets. It says the de-carbonised power system of the future will generate investment opportunities from providing locational and balancing services, and that digital Intelligence is key to generating attractive financial returns from storage and flexibility assets.
James Mills, Director, Varco Energy said: “As the UK moves forwards towards a net-zero power system, we are delighted to add this asset to our battery storage project portfolio. The UK needs to invest up to £11 billion in storage assets by 2035 to deliver on its net zero ambitions and Varco Energy is at the forefront of this transition. We will now focus on the operational integration of the project into our broader portfolio, with a targeted energisation in Q2 2025.”