• Natpower is investing £1 billion in a new battery storage project at Sembcorp Utilities’ Wilton International Site, which will be one of the UK’s highest capacity battery energy storage facilities.
• This project is expected to significantly reduce waste from national grid bottlenecks, which currently cost the UK an estimated £3.5 billion annually, and will create around 200 construction jobs.
• The development of this large-scale battery storage site is seen as a blueprint for combining renewable energy storage with industrial hubs, aiming to transform areas like Middlesbrough into net-zero economic powerhouses.

Global energy company Natpower is set to dwarf a key Labour investment in battery storage development as it said £1bn would be injected into one of the largest storage sites in the UK. 

The new battery storage project on Sembcorp Utilities’ Wilton International Site near Middlesbrough will receive £1bn in private funding with “no government contracts required”. 

Natpower UK has said the site will deliver one of the highest capacity projects for battery energy storage in the UK, with duration and capacity of energy to be double levels seen across other battery storage sites. 

Battery storage systems are crucial for allowing renewable energy to be more effective by plugging the gaps for when solar panels and wind farms do not produce power. 

Natpower said the project would reduce waste from national grid bottlenecks costing the UK some £3.5bn a year. 

Around 200 construction jobs are also set to be created while training will be conducted alongside local colleges and environmental organisations. 

Chief executive Stefano Sommadossi said the battery storage site would provide a “blueprint” for combining renewable energy storage with ports and other businesses. 

“Within five years, we can transform one of the UK’s most important industrial hubs into a net-zero economic powerhouse and then replicate this model in ports across the globe,” Sommadossi said. 

Labour’s investment in battery storage

On Wednesday, the National Wealth Fund said it would back two investment firms in a £500m venture to boost battery storage facilities across the country. 

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said battery storage would bring down bills and boost jobs while energy minister Michael Shanks said battery storage sites were crucial for boosting clean power, which is seen as one of the UK’s high growth sectors. 

The energy watchdog Ofgem revealed on Wednesday morning that the energy price cap would be raised by two per cent – above expectations – between October and December.

This price hike will push the typical household’s energy spend up to £1,755 per year, despite a fall in wholesale energy prices.

The government is planning to slash industrial energy prices by up to 25 per cent for 7000 businesses from 2027, with companies facing higher energy costs in France than in the likes of France and the US.

By City AM

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