Magnora ASA invests in a 60 MW PV and 40 MWh BESS project in the UK
Norway-based renewable energy company Magnora ASA announced the investment in the development of a 60 MW solar PV project and a 40 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the UK. This investment represents Magnora’s first step to entering the UK solar and battery storage services market.
As planned, Magnora will develop the projects with a local development partner to a ready-to-build stage, at which point the projects will be divested. The local development partner has a 10-year track record of developing energy projects in the UK, including PV and BESS projects.
Over the next 12 months, Magnora will center on optimizing the projects from an environmental and technical perspective, securing planning consent and cost-efficient grid connections, and preparing the sales process.
We are very pleased to take our first step into the attractive UK solar PV and battery energy storage markets, and by that leverage on our experiences from Sweden where we successfully have built a portfolio of development stage solar energy projects through our ownership in Helios Nordic Energy AB. We will continue to monitor further opportunities, and subject to a successful development in this first step, we will consider further investments in the UK solar PV and BESS market.
—said Erik Sneve, CEO of Magnora ASA.
The UK has a legally binding target to deliver a net-zero economy by 2050[1]. Based on reports from the Committee for Climate Change, a total solar capacity of 40 GW is expected to hit by 2030. During the first six months of 2022, the UK posted an 80% growth in new solar PV installations compared to the same period last year, with 556 MW of capacity installed.
On the other hand, batteries play a crucial role in the UK’s modern flexible energy system, helping grid operators finely balance the supply of electricity to meet demand, and providing extra resources when needed, for frequency response, for example.
References
- ^ a net-zero economy by 2050 (www.gov.uk)