NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd (LSE:NESF) said its first co-located battery storage system will be built at its existing 11MW North Norfolk solar farm.
This will be a 6MW/12MWh battery system, with planning permission already secured and construction expected to begin this year, it said.
Through its 70%-owned energy storage joint venture with Eelpower, NextEnergy said it has identified four more potential locations from its 91 solar plants where co-located battery storage systems could be retrofitted next. These are now being progressed into the development stage.
“Implementing co-located batteries across the portfolio presents an attractive growth opportunity for NESF as these assets offer both synergies with our PV assets, as well as offering diversification to our portfolio income,” said Michael Bonte-Friedheim, group chief executive of NextEnergy Group.
“Battery storage is a market that NESF has been preparing for some time, having acquired two small scale co-located batteries at Salcey Farm and Pierces Farm in 2017, and we look forward to keeping the market up to date on the results of this programme, now and in the future."
By working with battery sector experts, the company said it expects battery co-location to provide not only more favourable future revenue opportunities from battery storage, but also diversification of its assets, technology and revenue.
Revenue opportunities it has identified include arbitrage energy trading, providing balancing capability for the national and local grid and tapping into the longer-term revenues from the UK capacity market.
"Battery storage is, and will be, a strong driver of growth for NESF, particularly as we look to help in the drive to decarbonisation and the UK's goal to achieve net zero by 2050,” said Ross Grier, UK managing director of NextEnergy Capital.
“We anticipate that energy market volatility and continued demand for higher amounts of renewable energy will increase our strong value proposition for battery storage within NESF's portfolio.”