The battery will be built on Feeder Road in Bristol. Image: Thrive Renewables.
Thrive Renewables has acquired its second battery storage asset, with this being a 20MW battery project in Bristol.
It has the capacity to deliver between one and two hours of electricity for flexibility services such as frequency response and balancing services to the national and local grid. The Feeder Road site will participate in both wholesale market trading and future Capacity Market auctions, the company said.
In December, Thrive Renewables acquired its first storage asset, a 5MW site just outside of Milton Keynes, as it looked to expand beyond its wind and hydro power roots.
The company’s portfolio of projects reflects how the energy system is changing, said Monika Paplaczyk, investment director at Thrive Renewables.
“Battery storage projects like Feeder Road will enable further deployment of wind and solar generation. Our hydro and forthcoming geothermal projects will provide more baseload renewable electricity. Together these types of technology will provide the backbone of the resilient, renewables dominated electricity grid the country needs going forward.”
Thrive Renewables has acquired the site from Bristol developer Aura Power. As part of the agreement, it also acquired Aura Power’s share in Thrive Renewables (BESS Holdings), which was a previous joint venture between the companies.
The Feeder Road battery storage project was “particularly important” to Aura Power, said the company’s director Simon Coulston, as it was less than a mile from their headquarters.
"We had tremendous support from local stakeholders during the development process and are delighted that Thrive Renewables, a leading Bristol-based impact investor, will be taking this project into construction. This project is a great demonstration of Bristol's place at the forefront of the UK energy transition."
Thrive Renewables is now looking to choose partners for the construction phase of Feeder Road, which is expected to be complete in spring 2022. It is being advised on the project by law firm TLT and renewables consultancy Everoze.
It follows Thrive Renewables also entering the solar space in the last year, including developing a new financing framework for commercial solar arrays in partnership with Olympus Power and investing in solar powered railways company Riding Sunbeams.