

Last month, SUSI Partners’ joint venture with Eelpower, a UK owner-operator of sustainable power infrastructure, brought online one of the largest operational battery storage assets in Scotland. The start of commercial operations for the 50 MW battery located in Dundee represents a further important step in the buildout of SUSI’s UK battery storage portfolio.
SUSI’s UK battery storage portfolio was acquired through SUSI’s dedicated energy storage fund, which was launched in 2017 and finalised its investment phase in 2021. It consists of seven utility-scale battery sites distributed across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, of which five assets combining for 140 MW are now operational while two further 50 MW batteries are expected to be brought online later in 2023.
The UK relies heavily on battery storage facilities to enable the increased integration of intermittent renewable energy into its electricity mix. In particular, the UK has long been a global leader in installed offshore wind capacity – today only outranked by China – the intermittent production of which can present grid operators with challenges. Accordingly, the balancing services that utility-scale batteries can provide have been and will remain indispensable for the further phaseout of fossil fuel-based power generation in the UK, as indicated by the more than 20 GW capacity currently in planning.
With its dedicated energy storage fund, SUSI was one of the earliest investment managers directing institutional capital towards battery storage technology, forming a diversified portfolio of both utility-scale and behind-the-meter solutions with investments across Canada, the UK, Australia, and the United States.
Since completion of the dedicated energy storage vehicle’s investment phase, SUSI has continued to invest in the technology through its energy transition equity fund focussed on OECD markets. After launching an Italian clean energy development platform with battery storage capabilities in late 2021, the vehicle acquired a 100 MW portfolio of battery storage assets located in South Texas based on a broader partnership with U.S developer SMT Energy in 2022. Battery storage has thus become an important element of SUSI’s holistic energy transition strategies, which aim to build well-diversified portfolios across clean energy production, energy efficiency, and solutions enabling the use of clean energy.