Highlights

• £445 million equity funding and £594 million loans mobilised for the Thorpe Marsh battery project.
• 1,400 MW / 3,100 MWh capacity will supply power for about 785,000 homes from mid-2027.
• Long-term agreements with EDF, Octopus Energy, and Statkraft cover 80 percent of output.

Fidra Energy has reached financial close on the UK’s largest battery energy storage project at Thorpe Marsh in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

The company announced a new £445 million equity investment from EIG and the National Wealth Fund (NWF). An additional £594 million in loans from a group of international lenders will fund construction.

Work at the former coal power station site begins immediately.

The Thorpe Marsh facility will provide 1,400 MW of power with 3,100 MWh of capacity, making it the largest battery storage site in Europe once it starts operating in mid-2027.

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It would supply enough electricity for about 785,000 homes each year, three times the scale of any other UK battery project currently planned or in operation.

Large-scale battery energy storage allows excess electricity from wind and solar power to be stored during periods of high generation. The stored energy can then be released when demand rises or renewable output falls, which keeps the national grid stable and reduces the need for electricity from fossil fuels.

Fidra has arranged long-term offtake agreements with EDF, Octopus Energy, and Statkraft that cover around 80 percent of the site’s capacity. The project also secured a 15-year capacity market award from the UK government beginning in October 2028.

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vThe National Wealth Fund is committing up to £200 million to Fidra’s wider plans, including a second large project at West Burton in Nottinghamshire. Thorpe Marsh and West Burton together could add around 11 percent of the storage capacity needed under the UK government’s Clean Power 2030 mission.

Local leaders, including the Mayor of Doncaster, have welcomed the project as a way to create jobs and give new purpose to a former coal site, while national officials point to the project’s role in strengthening UK energy security and expanding the country’s renewable power network.

Ends/

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Source: National Wealth Fund