Published: 30 Jan 2023, 13:39
The Contego BESS project developed with Harmony Energy is one project included in the portfolio. Image: Harmony Energy.
Renewable development company Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has completed the financial close of a UK-based battery energy storage system (BESS) portfolio with a combined capacity of 133MW/266MWh.
The transaction closed on 23 December with FRV having secured the portfolio via £61 million. The two BESS projects are situated in Contego and Clay Tye, West Sussex and Essex respectively. The transaction was carried out by Natixis CIB.
With an output of 99MW, Clay Tye has a capacity of 198MWh, and utilises 52 Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries.
The Contego project uses 28 Tesla Megapack batteries and has an output of 34MW and a capacity of 68MWh. In total, FRV already has a pipeline of more than 5GW of battery storage projects under development in the UK, it said.
The transaction is recognised as a major milestone for the company with the two projects identified as the “largest project finance executed on two highly merchant battery (c.90%) projects in Europe to date”, the firm said.
????We have completed the financial close of our BESS projects of Contengo and Clay Tye! The 2 largest commercial battery projects with the most funding in Europe ????.
Reaching up to £61 million with the help of @natixis , who carried out the transaction.#batterystorage #bess pic.twitter.com/hAErQVhgQp
— Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (@FotowatioRV) January 30, 2023
“The financial close of these projects adds another milestone to our growth objective in the UK storage market, strengthening the sustainability of the business model in the long term and our leadership position in the market. FRV also has other assets in the UK market that are currently in different stages of execution,” said David Menendez, managing director of FRV UK.
FRV previously closed financing for a non-contracted revenue model for its Holes Bay 7.5MW/15MWh BESS project in late 2021. The closing had been completed with NatWest, which would provide non-recourse financing for a non-contracted revenue model, making the project, at the time, one of the “first” in the industry under this framework in the UK and worldwide, the firm said.
As part of the financing package for the Contego and Clay Tye projects, FRV also closed two Debt Service Reserve Facilities (one for each project) and a VAT facility.
“Reaching this financial close marks another milestone in our commitment to developing the UK’s renewable energy sector and supporting the realisation of the country’s ambitions towards reaching net zero emissions by 2050,” said Fady Jameel, deputy president and vice-chairman at Abdul Latif Jameel Energy – the parent company of FRV.
“This significant achievement further promotes our position as a trusted partner that is leading the sector’s transformation around the world, while we make impressive progress in expanding our portfolio of BESS projects in the UK and globally.”