Catalyst Capital, a European real asset investment, development and fund management firm, has acquired a site next to the M1 motorway in Yorkshire, UK, for the development of a 100MW battery storage facility.
Catalyst Energy Storage Platform (CESP), headed by John Parsons, has acquired the leasehold interest in a brownfield site at the former Skelton Grange power station, south east of Leeds, from Referent, a renewable energy developer. The site is part of a regional hub for renewable energy and is adjacent to a 19.5-acre waste-to-energy facility, which is currently under construction.
Planning permission was granted last year for a 100MW battery storage facility. The construction tendering process is being managed by CESP‘s engineering adviser, Fitchner, with the intention that the site will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The site is one of a series that will be acquired by Catalyst as part of a £300 mln (€360 mln), diversified UK battery storage facility strategy.
Skelton follows a joint venture acquisition last year with Dowling in Nursling, Southampton. The 50MW facility is expected to be fully operational in February 2022. Catalyst is now in talks with investors to jointly fund the expansion of the battery storage platform.
Battery storage, or battery energy storage systems (BESS), enable energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and then released when customers need power most. Battery storage technologies are essential to accelerating the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy and have a key part to play in the UK government’s policy of ensuring homes and businesses can be powered by green energy by 2030.
Kean Hird, partner of Catalyst Capital, said: ‘John and his team have been researching this sector for some time and we believe there is a compelling opportunity to deliver a portfolio of UK battery storage facilities. This portfolio will give our investors the opportunity to invest into a scalable market with high ESG credentials in the renewables sector. Although the sector is still in evolution, it is quickly gaining institutional status, while delivering very healthy cash-on-cash returns in the interim.’
