GB battery storage activity in December and January

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The outlook is positive, with tailwinds including the buildout of renewables and improving revenue opportunities, but reforms around grid connection and, potentially, electricity market pricing are keeping developers and investors on their toes.

Standalone BESS project approvals totalling 430MW, and a solar and storage NSIP go-ahead

Last week saw Bluefield Solar and Lightrock Power secure planning consent for a 100MW BESS from the Mid Sussex District Council while Root-Power got the same from local authorities in North Yorkshire for a 40MW project. Root-Power also received the green light for a 50MW project in Scotland a month earlier.

Earlier in the same week as Bluefield’s consent, Renewable Power Capital (RPC) and Greenfield announced receiving planning consent for a 40MW BESS Warwickshire.

In December, both British Solar Renewables and RES received the go-ahead for 49.9MW BESS projects, in Essex and Scotland respectively.

Scotland has been a hotbed of the BESS development and permitting activity, with another 100MW project, this time from ILI Group, getting consent at the start of December.

The country is the site of three 500MW/1,000MWh projects from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which, as of January, all have final investment decision (FID), the largest in Europe to do so. CIP spoke to us for a Premium article shortly after.

December and January haven’t only been good news announcements, however. Net Zero Fourteen had a planning application for a 100MW BESS in Yorkshire rejected by the local council, citing fire safety and land use concerns.

January has also seen a development consent order (DCO) granted for a solar NSIP – Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project – which is set to pair 500MW of solar with between 200MW and 400MW of BESS, according to developer Ecotricity. A DCO is planning consent from central government for larger projects.

Projects completed, acquired and submitted for planning

BESS provider Trina Storage and EPC firm Clarke Energy have completed construction of a 50MWh BESS in Newport for owner Field, announced a few weeks ago. Cubico Sustainable Investments meanwhile signed a deal with Tesla for a 95MWh BESS project in Dorset.

Much larger but earlier stage BESS projects have also made headlines. Developer NatPower submitted planning applications for two projects targeting 1GW/4GWh of capacity each both in Yorkshire, while Statera acquired a 680MW project from Carlton Power, near Manchester.

The start of 2025 saw Voltis submit a screening request for a 500MW project. A screening request is to see if a project needs an environmental impact study, and is not a request for planning permission.

Energy Optimisation Solutions (EOS), a developer backed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, submitted plans for approval for a 100MW project in Teeside.

UK-headquartered battery storage investor-developer Gore Street Energy Fund (GSF) has completed energisation of the 200MW/400MWh Big Rock battery energy storage system (BESS) project in California, US.

The UK saw a slowdown in both BESS installations and submitted applications in 2024, while applications in Ireland grew by capacity, writes PV Tech Research analyst Charlotte Gisbourne.

The UK government has not ruled out changing grid access rights for new energy storage projects as part of its REMA reforms, a potential move that consultancy AFRY and investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) discussed with Energy-Storage.news.

Executives from investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners discussed its three BESS projects in Scotland totalling 1.5GW/3GWh which have all now reached FID, the largest BESS in Europe to do so.

Energy Storage Award 2024 winner, Semih Oztreves, head of network infrastructure at  BESS developer-investor Zenobē Energy, takes part in our annual Q&A series.