Gresham House Energy Storage Fund has energised a 50MW/50MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Lancashire.
Situated in Penwortham, south-west of the county capital Preston, the 1-hour duration BESS is set to be expanded to 2-hours in the summer, meaning its capacity would be 50MW/100MWh.
With the commencement of this new BESS, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund’s operational capacity has now reached 790MW/926MWh. The project is the fund’s 25th operational asset since IPO.
Ben Guest, fund manager of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc and managing director of Gresham House New Energy, said: “Penwortham is our 25th operational site acquisition since IPO. We’re pleased to have hit this milestone and to be completing projects at a steady pace with Grendon, West Didsbury, York and now Penwortham all being energised in the last nine months.
“Our pipeline projects are expected to be completed, contribute to earnings and be accretive to cashflow per share in 2024. Including duration extensions on 340MW of already operational projects, we expect to reach 1,072MW/1,696MWh by the end of the year. We look forward to announcing further progress.”
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund revenues start to recover
Earlier this month, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund stated that its revenues had started to recover in 2024 after falls in 2023.
The company confirmed the presence of a “weak revenue environment” in 2023, with a 38% fall in revenues to £38.7 million (US$48 million), and a 47% fall in EBITDA, as the fund swung to a £110 million loss from a £217 million profit the prior year. Net Asset Value (NAV) per share fell 17% to 129.07p.
Falling prices in the ancillary service market was the main reason revenues fell for GRID and other UK BESS owners and operators in 2023.