Zenobē starts construction of its 400MW/800MWh battery storage project in Eccles, Scotland
- Eccles BESS, Zenobē’s largest site to date will go live in 2027 and will reduce the waste of clean wind power by delivering the UK’s largest Stability Services contract for NESO
- Zenobē’s live and contracted portfolio of projects in Scotland grows to 1.05GW/2.1GWh – over 20 times increase in two years – and is part of its commitment to invest £750 million in Scotland
- Tesla, OCU Group and Hyosung Heavy Industries confirmed as key suppliers to the project
19th March 2025 – London, UK
Zenobē, the battery storage and fleet electrification specialist, has today announced it has reached financial close and begun construction of its latest battery storage system in Eccles, Scotland. Planned to go live in early 2027, the site provides the critical infrastructure the UK government needs to deliver on its Clean Power by 2030 ambition.
At 400MW/800MWh, the Eccles site demonstrates the increased scale of battery projects on the transmission network and the announcement brings Zenobē’s live and contracted portfolio of projects in Scotland to 1.05GW, an over twentyfold increase since announcing its 50MW Wishaw project in East Ayrshire in 2022.
The total debt raised for the project comes to £220 million, representing Zenobē’s largest debt raise for a single asset. The project’s financing is being provided by a group of lenders, arranged by National Westminster Bank Plc and KKR Capital Markets Partners LLP.
Tesla will supply its Megapack 2 XL battery energy storage system for the project, enabling Zenobē to remotely monitor, operate, and diagnose the equipment. This is the first project in the UK to use Tesla’s grid-forming technology, currently used in the US and Australia, and demonstrates the importance of this technology in providing stability to the grid. The site balance of plant will be constructed by OCU Group, who are also principal designer and responsible for the electrical and civil works. Hyosung Heavy Industries are providing the super grid transformers which will connect the battery storage system to the transmission network.
Through a dedicated contract the Eccles site will provide Stability Services to the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to improve the reliability and affordability of the UK’s increasingly renewable power system. This is the third contract of this type to be won by Zenobē and includes 2984MWs of inertia – almost 40% of the inertia contracted in the 2022 Stability Pathfinder 2 tender. Zenobē will also provide 936MVA of short circuit level.
The site will ensure renewable power like wind and solar are not wasted. It is estimated it will save consumers £309 million over 15 years once operational. It will also prevent approximately 4.9 million tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere during this period by integrating more wind power onto the transmission network.
Commenting, Zenobē’s Global Director of Network Infrastructure, Semih Oztreves, said: “Having just announced that we’ve gone live at Blackhillock, and with our 300MW/600 MWh Kilmarnock South battery on track to go live in 2026, achieving financial close on Eccles demonstrates the pace at which Zenobē Is working to deliver the Government’s Clean Power 2030 mission.
We look forward to working with experts at Tesla, Hyosung Heavy Industries and OCU Group to deliver this critical infrastructure. Zenobē is working to prevent not only unnecessary cost from the waste of renewable power but also to enhance the UK’s energy security by increasing the use of homegrown power in these uncertain political times”.
Mike Snyder Vice President Energy & Charging, Tesla, said: “This is the first project in the UK using Tesla’s proven Grid-Forming technology – and demonstrating its efficacy at scale. Zenobē’s commitment to innovation and operational expertise make them a strong partner as we continue to develop and deploy new technologies to improve grid stability.”
Neil O’Hara, COO and MD of OCU Energy added: “OCU Group is pleased to partner with Zenobē on this significant project and support the energy transition in the UK. As the principal designer and constructor of the site balance of plant, our role extends to managing both the electrical and civil works of the Eccles battery storage system.
Importantly, this leading end-to-end project will enhance the stability of renewable energy in the grid and support the UK’s Clean Power 2030 ambitions. The work will be completed by our OCU Connect team, who specialise in accelerated energy projects, and RJ McLeod, our Scottish based energy & civil engineering business.”
Notes to editor
About Zenobē Energy Ltd. (Zenobē):
Zenobē is an EV fleet and grid-scale battery storage specialist, headquartered in the UK. The company began operations in 2017 and now employs >300 FTEs with a wide range of leading skills including electrical engineering, software development, computer sciences and financing.
Zenobē is the leading owner and operator of grid-scale batteries on the GB transmission network and is expanding into Australasia and North America. Zenobē has 1135MW of battery storage assets in operation or under construction.
Zenobē has around 25% market share of the UK EV bus sector and supports over 2,000 electric vehicles across 120 depots globally. The company is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
For more information, please visit www.zenobe.com/ or follow on LinkedIn.
Sources:
“Save consumers £309 million over 15 years once operational”
The consumer savings of £309m reflects savings of £90m from the Stability Pathfinder contract and savings of £219m from providing balancing services and constraint management to the grid and helping reduce price volatility.
The £90m of savings from the Stability Pathfinder assumes that the contract secured for the Blackhillock project will avoid the use of combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) to provide inertia and short circuit level (SCL). We assume CCGT efficiency of 55% and Stable Export Limit of 35%. The average gas price over the 9-10year contract length is assumed to be £40/MWh, which is conservative considering the high price outlook for gas over the next decade.
The £219m of savings from balancing services and constraint management assumes, with degradation over the lifetime considered, the battery cycles twice a day and provides a reasonable level of savings to the control room when compared to the alternative actions that would otherwise been taken. For example, curtailing wind generation during periods of network constraint or more competitively priced offer actions than gas peakers or CCGTS.
“Prevent approximately 4.9 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere”
The CO2 savings are benchmarked against the following:
The provision of power and/or Stability Services versus a gas peaking plant (540gCO2e/kWh) or combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) (450g CO2 e/kWh, operating at Stable Export Limit for provision of Stability Services), depending on the time of operation. The Carbon intensity of imported energy to charge the battery is assumed at the 2024 national average of 150g CO2 e/kWh This is a conservative assumption considering the high penetration of renewable generation and otherwise curtailed power in Scotland when the battery would charge.
For more information read this article > https://www.zenobe.com/insights-and-guides/zenobe-carbon-impact/
