Pioneering transaction sees sale of battery storage facility

Law firm Bond Dickinson, which has a large office in Bristol, has advised longstanding client RES, the global renewable energy company, on the sale of the Port of Tyne 35MW battery storage project.

The project was acquired by the Foresight Group, the independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager.

This acquisition represents the largest of the National Grid’s Enhanced Frequency Response (“EFR”) battery storage projects to attract investment from an infrastructure investment manager in the UK.

The project at Port of Tyne was developed and will be constructed and operated by RES, one of the world’s leading independent renewable energy and energy storage developers. RES has a global energy storage portfolio totalling more than 175 MW (212 MWh) and providing multiple grid services.

Working closely with RES’s in-house legal team, Bond Dickinson’s renewable energy team was led by Corporate/Energy partner Sebastian Briggs, supported by Energy partner Chris Towner, Corporate (Tax) managing associate Ronan Lowney, Corporate associate Luke Andruszewski and Real Estate associate Claire Tucker.

Rachel Ruffle, RES Managing Director said: “Energy storage has a crucial role to play in delivering a flexible electricity network to support the UK’s economic growth and enable more low cost, renewable energy to be used.

“As a leader in the energy storage market RES prides itself in delivering projects that meet the needs of our clients and society. RES is proud to be working with Foresight, as it expands its infrastructure investments into energy storage. We look forward to building and operating a successful storage project at the Port of Tyne.”