UK investment fund DIF Capital Partners has secured a 10-year power purchase agreement for a 55 MW solar farm connected with a 40 MW/80 MWh of storage in the United Kingdom from an undisclosed buyer. The project will be located in Bedfordshire, England.

Swiss consultancy Pexapark helped DIF Capital Partners in structuring the deal.

“Working with DIF, the seller within the agreement, Pexapark’s PPA Transaction advisory team was able to draw on the quantitative expertise of its Storage and Flexibility Desk to analyze expected revenues and risk exposure,” Pexapark said in a statemenr. “This enabled Pexapark to determine an optimal PPA structure that encompasses both the power generation and storage aspects of the project.”

Pexapark did not specify a time frame for the project construction or disclose the financial terms of the deal.

“We anticipate that this deal will be the first of many, representing a turning point for the European sector in the deployment of bankable solar hybrid projects,” said Jack Rankin, Pexapark's PPA transaction advisory regional lead for Great Britain and Ireland. “In the long run, agreements like this will be essential for integrating high shares of intermittent renewable energy generation into the grid.”

DIF Capital Partners said in mid-June that it had reached a close on financing q co-located solar and battery storage portfolio in the United Kingdom. The portfolio consists of seven ready-to-build sites with 380 MW of solar capacity and 340 MW of storage capacity.

“The first two projects in the portfolio have commenced construction, with an expectation that all projects will be operational between 2024 and 2025,” the fund said at the time.

The United Kingdom requires grid-stabilization services provided by BESS due to its weaker interconnections compared to continental Europe. Utility-scale projects have increased in recent years, expanding the range of services that large batteries can offer in this deregulated market.

According to the National Grid, the United Kingdom may need up to 50 GW of storage capacity by 2050 to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions goal.

In April, RenewableUK reported that the total pipeline of battery projects in the country has doubled from 16.1 GW to 32.1 GW. Operational battery storage capacity has grown by 45% to 1.6 GW, and the capacity of projects under construction has more than doubled to 1.4 GW. Additionally, 10.4 GW has been approved, while 7.7 GW is in the planning system.