UK battery storage platform Constantine Energy Storage (CES) has appointed two firms to optimise five of its battery assets in the UK.
Global optimiser Habitat Energy will optimise three new transmission-connected battery energy storage systems (BESS). The three projects, Ocker Hill, near Birmingham, Whitegate, near Manchester, and Monk Fryston, near Leeds, are all 57MW, 2.7-hour duration systems and all are expected to be live by summer 2025.
Once operational, Habitat Energy will maximise the BESS’ revenue performance across wholesale trading, ancillary service markets and the balancing mechanism (BM), using its integrated, end-to-end EVOLVE optimisation service. Habitat is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners. The agreement with CES brings Habitat’s portfolio of assets under contract in the UK to 1.2GW.
CES commercial director Mike Ryan said Habitat Energy was engaged early on for the three BESS projects.
Habitat’s UK managing director Jon Doughty added that the company is “proud to be recognised by Constantine”, acknowledging also the “significant complexity” that transmission-connected assets carry.
CES was launched by investment fund Constantine Group in 2021 and in 2022 Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) and Railpen jointly took on a 94% stake. The company constructs and owns battery assrts and has an initial portfolio of over 1.6GWh of grid-scale battery storage UK-wide with 770MWh in construction.
EDF has also scored a deal with CES, agreeing to provide route-to-market and optimisation services for two more new build battery assets totalling 114MW. Both sites, Capenhurst in Cheshire and Legacy in North Wales, also each have 57MW capacity and 2.7-hour duration.
EDF will use its Powershift platform to maximise revenue generation across ancillary services, wholesale trading and the BM. The collaboration is the first time EDF has worked with CES.
Stuart Fenner, director of wholesale market service commercial at EDF, said: “As first-time partners, we are excited to combine our market-leading optimisation expertise with Constantine’s forward-thinking approach to energy storage. The extended duration of these assets will provide crucial flexibility to the grid, and our Powershift platform will ensure they generate maximum value in all market conditions.”
EDF purports to be Britain’s largest zero carbon energy generator and a market leader in battery optimisation services, with over 2GW of battery assets under contract in the UK. Wholesale market services senior analyst at EDF UK, James Thornton, wrote a blog for Solar Power Portal last year detailing the company’s strategies that ensure efficiency and longevity, available here.
