By Sarah George
Copyright edie
Edinburgh-based BESS company Fidra Energy is celebrating the milestone for its Thorpe Marsh site in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, adjacent to the site of a former coal-fired power station.
The £1bn BESS is set to become operational in mid-2027. At 1,400 MW / 3,100MWh, it will be the UK’s largest battery storage facility by some margin; its capacity is expected to be three times greater than the second-largest.
Fidra Energy claims the project will have the potential to export more than two million MWh of electricity each year, equivalent to the demand of some 785,000 homes.
The UK Government’s National Wealth Fund has pledged up to £200m of new equity investment in the project this week.
This is in addition to a further £245m of equity investment pledged by EIG, plus loans totalling £594m from a coalition of international lenders including Deutsche Bank, Natwest and Santander.
Fidra has signed long-term offtake agreements with EDF, Octopus Energy and Statkraft for around 80% of the Thorpe Marsh project’s capacity. This spring, the project secured a fifteen-year capacity market award from the UK Government, commencing in October 2028.
National Wealth Fund strategy
The National Wealth Fund’s interim CEO, Ian Brown, said the organisation is “set to play a meaningful part in helping the UK achieve its clean energy ambitions, through our support for Thorpe Marsh and other key projects”.
Brown added: “Our investment highlights our role as a significant player in the energy storage sector, and, working alongside EIG and Fidra, we’re helping to provide the finance needed to deliver large-scale battery assets to improve grid stability and further enhance the UK’s energy independence.”
The Government fully launched the National Wealth Fund in October 2024 to support the delivery of the wider industrial strategy. The Fund is based in Leeds and currently has a total capitalisation of £27.8bn.
Furthering the UK Government’s 2030 Clean Power mission is a key focus for the Fund. It has already made separate investments in projects including Pulse Clean Energy’s portfolio of BESS sites, a battery gigafactory in Sunderland and electric vehicle charging point operator Connected Kerb.
The full list of international lenders supporting the Thorpe Marsh BESS project is: ABN Amro, China Minsheng, CIBC, Deutsche Bank AG, Investec Bank, MUFG, Natwest, Nord LB, Santander CIB, Siemens Bank through Siemens Financial Services, SMBC, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered Bank.
