BESS developer Apatura has signed an agreement with Drax Group, who will initially acquire three battery energy storage system projects located in Scotland and Northern England.

The development portfolio will provide capacity totalling 260MW, with construction of all three projects scheduled to commence in 2026 with the first two completing in 2027 and the third completing in 2028.

As part of the transaction, Apatura has agreed with Drax the option of a right of first offer over a further eight planned sites with a total combined capacity of 289MW, creating optionality for the continued development of the FlexGen portfolio.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said, “This acquisition is our first investment in short duration storage as part of our FlexGen portfolio to support UK energy security and a clean power system. We look forward to working with Apatura on the development of battery storage, which when commissioned will allow us to provide even more secure power to the country when it is needed. In combination with our long duration energy storage, flexible generation and renewable generation from biomass, we will be able to provide 4.4GW of dispatchable generation to meet demand.”

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