Statera Energy's newest battery storage facility enters commercial operations following funding from Santander UK and Natwest
Statera Energy’s Minety South Storage 2 battery facility has entered commercial operations
The new 50MW facility in Malmesbury, Wiltshire has the potential to power more than 13,000 homes
Santander UK and NatWest provided a £116m club funding package to support Minety South Storage 2 along with several other Statera Energy projects
Statera Energy’s newest battery storage facility, Minety South Storage 2, has entered commercial operations, providing enough energy to power more than 13,000 homes.
Santander UK and NatWest took a project financing approach to provide £86m plus a £30m accordion facility through club funding to support the new 50MW battery storage facility as well as several other energy projects in Statera Energy’s portfolio.
Minety South Storage 2 sits beside another Statera Energy battery storage facility, which entered commercial operation earlier this year, and the two facilities have a collective capacity of 100MW.
The completion of Minety South Storage 2 takes Statera Energy’s total operational portfolio to 350MW. The portfolio supported by Santander UK and NatWest’s club funding is 250MW worth of energy assets, including 150MW of battery storage and 100MW of gas-fired flexible generation. A further 100MW battery storage project is due for completion next year.
Statera Energy develops, owns and operates flexible assets to balance a renewables-led electricity system, playing a key role in balancing fluctuations in the supply of renewable energy to the UK’s electricity network and providing greater energy security. The company’s roadmap includes the transition of its flexible generation plant to hydrogen-fired operation, supporting the Government’s target of decarbonising the power sector by 2035.
Statera Energy has a power purchase agreement and long-term strategic partnership with power market optimisation services company Statkraft, to deliver more than 1GW of energy storage and utility scale flexible gas-powered generation in the UK.
Tom Vernon, Managing Director, Statera Energy said:
We are delighted that Santander UK and NatWest have supported Statera Energy’s continued growth with this funding. It is essential that flexible generation and energy storage technologies are deployed at scale, in conjunction with the vast amounts of renewables required to meet the UK Government’s target of a net zero power system by 2035. The projects that will be constructed with support from this funding will provide a meaningful contribution to the stability and security of the UK’s power system of the future.
Ioana Bozan, Director, Specialised & Project Finance at Santander UK said:
We are pleased to provide funding to support Statera Energy in constructing these new energy facilities. Santander UK strongly supports clients, such as Statera Energy, that are helping to bring stability and reliability to the nation’s power supply and working toward the aim of decarbonising the UK’s electricity sector by 2035.