Battery storage asset owner and operator Varco Energy has added a 47.5MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Cornwall to its portfolio.
Varco has acquired the BESS, dubbed Sambar Power, from Carlton Power, a UK infrastructure development company. It will be situated at the Indian Queens substation, located directly east of Newquay.
Planning consent for the BESS was secured in October 2022, and Varco will now look to bring the asset online by Q2 2025. Once complete, the company stated that the BESS will provide further flexibility solutions for the UK’s electricity system, providing an opportunity to drive renewable developments further.
James Mills, director of Varco Energy said: “As the UK moves forwards towards a net-zero power system, we are delighted to add this asset to our battery storage project portfolio. The UK needs to invest up to £11 billion in storage assets by 2035 to deliver on its net zero ambitions and Varco Energy is at the forefront of this transition.
“We will now focus on the operational integration of the project into our broader portfolio, with a targeted energisation in Q2 2025.”
Indian Queens has seen an influx of renewable projects in recent years, most notably the 50MW/100MWh Indian Queens grid-scale battery storage facility in Cornwall. The project is to be developed by UK solar and battery developer Renewable Connections.
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund pushes ahead with Irish energy storage
In other BESS news, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund secured an additional 385MW of Irish-based energy storage, of which 130MW is operational, in late March 2024.
The international energy storage fund secured this extra capacity by acquiring the remaining 49% stake in two of its existing Irish projects. It has also secured a 51% stake in Project Mucklagh, a 75MW asset in the Republic of Ireland, from renewable developer Low Carbon.
Gore Street has also secured the remaining stake in its Irish assets, including Porterstown, a 90MW asset, and Kilmannock, a 120MW construction asset.
Ireland has been singled out as “a consistently lucrative market for the company”.