Canadian Solar has built 2.5GWh for energy storage in the United States, including the Slate project in California which went online earlier this year (a rendering pictured). Image: Canadian Solar.
Canadian Solar has made its first move in the UK battery energy storage space after signing a number of agreements with Pulse Clean Energy.
It will provide integrated energy storage systems, as well as engineering, procurement and construction services for four battery storage projects with a total capacity of more than 100MWh.
Additionally, Canadian Solar will maintain and operate the battery assets via a 10-year long-term service agreement. Its solutions will allow Pulse Clean Energy to optimise the assets in ancillary grid-services, capturing multiple revenue streams, the company said.
Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar chairman and CEO said the company was grateful to have been selected to construct the battery storage projects.
"Over the past 3 years, we have built a track record of 2.5GWh for energy storage in the United States. Now, customers in other markets are turning to us. Such partnerships in implementing energy storage strategies are instrumental to support the clean energy transition."
As of the end of January, Canadian Solar had 300MWh of energy storage projects under long-term services agreements, a further 2,043MWh under construction and a pipeline of over 4GWh.
While this is the company’s first battery energy storage project in the UK, it has solar power projects in the market, and is currently developing the 350MW Mallard Pass Solar Farm together with Windel Energy, which forms part of a 1.4GWp pipeline of solar the two companies are targeting together.
Canadian Solar and Windel Energy have also signed a project agreement to co-develop a pipeline of 1.5GW of UK battery energy storage systems.
The four new battery developments also mark Pulse Clean Energy’s first step into the UK’s storage sector. The company – which was previously called Green Frog Power – was acquired by Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) in October 2021, and is targeting 1GW+ of energy storage assets in the UK.
“These projects mark the start of our battery conversion program in the UK,” said Trevor Wills, COO of Pulse Clean Energy.
“We previously acquired nine diesel generation sites, with a vision to decommission and repurpose these locations as grid-scale storage and energy optimisation assets." He added, "Battery storage has a critical role to play in energy system stability, and we are excited to be working with the team at Canadian Solar, which has a strong track record in deploying grid-scale renewable and energy storage technologies."