Battery energy storage system (BESS) owner-operator Eku Energy has announced that it has successfully energised two energy storage assets in England.
The two projects, the Loudwater BESS and the Basildon BESS, have a combined capacity of 68MW/111MWh, and are expected to be fully commissioned “shortly”, according to Eku Energy.
Located near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, the Loudwater BESS has a capacity of 40MW/55MWh. The project was announced in August 2023 and officially broke ground in February 2024, almost a year exactly ahead of this energisation announcement.
Meanwhile, the Basildon BESS in Essex has a 28MW/56MWh capacity, and both its early reveal and ground-breaking announcements were announced in tandem with the Loudwater BESS project.
BESS units for both the Loudwater and Basildon BESS developments were supplied by NHOA Energy and mark NHOA Energy’s energy into the UK BESS market. Since entering the UK market, NHOA Energy has pushed deeper into the BESS arena in the UK, announcing in June last year that it would supply Statkraft with BESS units for a 113MWh project in Coylton, Scotland.
In a press release, an Eku Energy representative stated: “Eku Energy is deeply invested in the United Kingdom and well positioned to push the deployment of BESS to accelerate the energy transition and advance energy security. With the support of the industry and its partners, Eku Energy will continue to deliver on a more flexible and decarbonised grid for cost-effective clean energy when and where it is needed.”
This news marks a positive start for Eku Energy’s 2025 UK ambitions following a milestone year in 2024 for the company. In September 2024, the company announced the full commissioning of the Maldon BESS, located in Maldon, in the county of Essex, England.
The Maldon BESS, a 40MW/40MWh capacity BESS asset, was a key milestone in Eku Energy’s future in the UK BESS sector, as it was the first Eku Energy BESS project in the UK to reach full commercial operation.
This project was supplied by Trina Storage, which will service and maintain the project for its operational lifespan. Furthermore, the Maldon BESS has successfully secured a long-term capacity market contract traded by EDF, which recently announced the expansion of its own BESS ambitions through plans to bring over 300MW of BESS capacity online over the next 12 months.
