Gresham House Plans to Deploy 852 MW of Battery Storage By Q1 2023
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc (LON:GRID) said today it has signed contracts to acquire a further 425 MW of battery energy storage projects from Gresham House Devco Ltd and proposed a GBP-100-million (USD 138m/EUR 117m) placing.
The 425-MW so-called current pipeline includes seven projects in the UK, ranging from 35 MW to 100 MW in size. Of these, 275 MW are moving into construction with commissioning slated for the first quarter of 2022, and 150 MW will be built subject to funding and other conditions, the company said.
GRID has also expanded its exclusive pipeline by another 427 MW of subsequent projects that it will aim to build by the end of the first quarter of 2023, potentially boosting its overall operational portfolio to more than 1.2 GW.
As the newly announced acquisition will fully consume the equity raised in November 2020, the firm plans to raise about GBP 100 million through a new share issue at GBP 1.12 per share, which is a discount of 7.25% to the closing share price on June 30 and a premium of 5% to the last reported net asset value (NAV).
The proceeds will finance the remaining two projects from the current pipeline with a combined capacity of 150 MW, as well as 90 MW from the subsequent pipeline.
“Battery storage is a strategic imperative for the UK to unlock its world-leading carbon reduction targets,” according to the fund’s chair John Leggate.
Ben Guest, lead fund manager and head of Gresham House New Energy, said that increasing economies of scale and streamlined processes mean the company can increase its rate of deployment while reducing build costs.
(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.383/EUR 1.165)
Source: renewablesnow
