Pacific Green Concludes 2023 with Huge Growth in its Battery Energy Parks Business
Pacific Green is celebrating a year of significant progress in its mission to build a global pipeline of grid-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
In 2023, the business has hit a series of key strategic milestones for its international pipeline of BESS sites in development or construction, which now approaches 6 GWh of energy storage capacity.
For the UK pipeline, consisting of pioneering projects, Richborough Energy Park Limited (“Richborough”), and Sheaf Energy Park Limited (“Sheaf”), Pacific Green concluded agreements that secure the long-term future of these assets as an integral part of the UK energy grid.
In June, Pacific Green completed the sale of 99.8 MW / 99.8 MWh Richborough to energy transition fund Sosteneo for an enterprise value of £74 million (US$93 million).
Richborough has now been handed over to optimiser Shell for trading across the entirety of the UK’s energy markets.
In November, 249 MW / 373.5 MWh Sheaf reached financial close – securing a combined £120 million from NatWest and the UK Infrastructure Bank and becoming one of the largest project-financed BESS sites in the world.
Simultaneously, a 10-year optimisation contract was secured for Sheaf with leading energy provider SSE, and Pacific Green entered into a transaction to sell 100% of its shares in the project to Sosteneo for an enterprise value of £210 million (US$258 million).
Building on these achievements, Pacific Green has successfully expanded its BESS interests into high potential markets overseas.
In Italy, Pacific Green acquired 51% of the shares in five 100 MW battery energy parks from energy originator, Sphera Energy, with the balance of shares to be acquired upon the achievement of certain milestones by Sphera. Commercial operation will commence on these projects throughout 2026, with the total capacity up to 2.8 GWh.
In Australia, Pacific Green has entered into a pair of exclusivity agreements to secure land for two major battery energy parks – the first a 1.0 GW / 2.0 GWh project in Portland, Victoria and the second a 0.5 GW / 1.0 GWh site in Limestone Coast, South Australia. Development is well underway for these projects, which will add significantly to regional BESS capacity in Southern Australia and are slated for commercial operation in 2026.
Scott Poulter, Pacific Green’s Chief Executive, said: “2023 has been a pivotal year for Pacific Green as we take huge steps to become a major global player in the battery energy storage market. The pioneering agreements we’ve secured in the past 12 months are testament to the unique combination of technology, infrastructure, and project finance expertise within our BESS team, as well as the strength of relationships we’ve built with our international manufacturing and development partners. We’re looking forward to taking these projects further in 2024 and beyond.”
