In recent years, the UK has emerged as a leader in M&A activity for battery energy storage systems in Europe. In 2023, the country accounted for over 60% of Europe's deal activity, continuing a trend seen in previous years. However, there has been a notable shift in the geographic distribution of these deals. While previous activity was spread across the entire island nation, recent data shows a heavy concentration of deal activity in the mid and southern parts of England. This shift can be attributed to the increasing grid intermittency and power curtailment in the region, which is primarily caused by the reliance on offshore wind projects in the North Sea and intermittent sources in the northern UK for renewable power. As a result, there is a growing demand for battery storage assets in this area to provide grid balancing services and energy arbitrage. This demand has attracted investors who recognize the lucrative revenue potential of these opportunities and are eager to capitalize on it by investing in assets in the region.
The surging M&A activity for BESS assets in the region was recently illustrated again with EIG Partners-backed West Burton Energy's acquisition of the 1.4 GW Thorpe Marsh Green project in Doncaster from Banks Group. Currently in the early stages of development, this BESS has a storage capacity of up to 2.9 GWh and will store excess renewable power for release into the national electrical network during periods of insufficient supply. Notably, this deal closely follows Banks Group's sale of its renewable division to Brookfield last week.
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The above analysis is proprietary to Enerdatics’ energy analytics team, based on the current understanding of the available data. The information is subject to change and should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a recommendation.
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