TIDMGRID
RNS Number : 9676R
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund
03 July 2020
3 July 2020
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc
(the 'Company' or the 'Fund')
Acquisition of 41MW Bloxwich battery storage project from Arenko
Group and Pipeline Update
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc (LSE: GRID), Great
Britain's largest operational battery storage fund, is pleased to
announce that it has completed the acquisition of a 41MW
operational energy storage facility known as Bloxwich from a group
of investors led by Arenko Cleantech ('Arenko'). This project was
previously disclosed by GRID as the 'Potential Acquisition'. The
acquisition increases the total capacity of operational utility
scale battery storage projects in the Fund's investment portfolio
to 215MW.
The facility is located on the Bloxwich Industrial estate in
Walsall in the West Midlands and was developed by Arenko and
utilises their leading battery software and controls platform.
Post-acquisition, Arenko will continue to operate and optimise
Bloxwich, which has been acquired by the Fund for an initial value
of GBP20.1 million, with further potential earnout payments.
Bloxwich was commissioned in July 2019 and operates in the
Balancing Mechanism, European Power Exchange (EPEX) and other
ancillary services markets, such as frequency response. In mid-May
2020, it was used to provide upward and downward reserve
flexibility to National Grid in the UK's first-of-its-kind trial
using an energy storage system ('ESS'). Existing upward and
downward reserve services are typically provided by large Combined
Cycle Gas Turbines and other thermal generation at a significant
financial and carbon emissions cost to the UK grid. In essence, an
ESS provides an exciting, more cost-effective source of grid
flexibility and these systems are likely to be central to a
zero-carbon emissions grid of the future.
John Leggate CBE, Chair of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc
commented:
"Bloxwich is a further step forward in our ambitions to build
Great Britain's essential renewable power storage infrastructure.
We're pleased to welcome Arenko, as one of our partners, to support
operational management and trading optimisation at Bloxwich. With
the operational portfolio now over 200MW for the first time, we
continue to make progress executing on our 2020 plan, and we look
forward to updating our shareholders."
Ben Guest, Fund Manager, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc
said:
"We are delighted to have completed this acquisition . Arenko is
one of only a handful of innovative and technically-capable
operators and optimisers of energy storage systems in the market,
as demonstrated by their recent announcements. We look forward to
working with them as the market burgeons in Great Britain."
Rupert Newland, CEO and Founder of Arenko Group, added:
"This is a transformational deal for Arenko as it marks our
transition from an asset owner to a software service provider. We
see batteries and other flexible assets playing a meaningful role
in the energy transition and believe intelligent AI software
platforms will be a crucial enabler to unlock value from batteries
globally. We look forward to working with Gresham House in helping
them maximise the value of their assets in the future."
Operational Portfolio
Facility Location MW Acquisition date
--------------------- ----------------- ---- -----------------
Staunch Staffordshire 20 November 2018
Rufford Nottinghamshire 7 November 2018
Lockleaze Bristol 15 November 2018
Littlebrook Kent 8 November 2018
Roundponds Wiltshire 20 November 2018
Wolverhampton West Midlands 5 August 2019
Glassenbury Kent 40 December 2019
Cleator Cumbria 10 December 2019
Red Scar Lancashire 49 December 2019
Bloxwich West Midlands 41 July 2020
--------------------- ----------------- ---- -----------------
Current Operational
Portfolio 215
---------------------------------------- ---- -----------------
Pipeline Update
Minor delays due to COVID-19 restrictions mean the Wickham
Market and Thurcroft projects are now expected to be completed by
the end of Q3 2020. The Board anticipates any delay to be revenue
neutral for the Company.
Both of these projects are battery-only sites, each with 50MW
import/export capacity.
Following completion of these two projects, and the 10MW
Glassenbury extension due to be commissioned in Q3 2020, the Fund
will have 325MW of operational capacity and will be fully
invested.
Pipeline Project Location MW Commissioning Date
(1)
Wickham Market Suffolk 50 Expected Q3 2020
Thurcroft South Yorkshire 50 Expected Q3 2020
Glassenbury extension Kent 10 Expected Q3 2020
Exclusivity Pipeline Near Edinburgh 30 Expected Q4 2020
Project (2)
----------------------- ----------------- ---- -------------------
Total Pipeline 140
------------------------------------------ ---- -------------------
Total Portfolio and
Pipeline 355
------------------------------------------ ---- -------------------
1) Expected commissioning dates are indicative and based on most
recent conversations with relevant Distribution Network Operators
(DNOs) and assume no further commissioning delays due to COVID-19
personnel availability.
2) To be acquired subject to funding.
For further information, please contact:
Gresham House New Energy
Ben Guest +44 (0)20 3837 6270
Jefferies International Limited
Stuart Klein
Neil Winward
Gaudi le Roux +44 (0)20 7029 8000
KL Communications gh@kl-communications.com
Charles Gorman +44 (0)20 3995 6699
Camilla Esmund
Alex Hogan
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
215MW. 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 GBP100 million of gross proceeds
from investors. Including issuance under the Placing Programme, it
has now raised a total of approximately GBP238 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 207MW 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 can store excess energy
generated, primarily, by renewable energy sources and can then
release that stored energy back into the grid during peak hours
when there is increased demand, and/or when renewable generation is
at a low.
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END
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