JLL advises Innova on the sale of a key battery storage site in Carlisle, UK to Zenobē

Zenobē, the UK’s leading owner and operator of grid-scale battery storage, today announced the acquisition of a 400MW ready-to-build battery energy storage system (BESS) in Low Harker, Cumbria, from Innova, one of the largest developers of renewable energy and data centres in the UK.

The site has a 2028 connection date, and the acquisition demonstrates Zenobē’s continuing commitment to help deliver on the UK’s ambitious goal of having 25GW of BESS capacity by 2030, up from 6GW today. This acquisition aligns with Zenobē’s strategy to focus on transmission connected assets with over 200MW capacity and was enabled following the government’s decision to continue with a national rather than a zonal approach to electricity pricing.

Innova has been developing the site since 2022 and achieved planning consent for the project in October 2023. The transaction was advised by JLL, who also acted as financial advisor to Innova alongside TLT and Foot Anstey as legal advisors. Zenobē was supported by Pinsent Masons and Natural Power on the legal and technical aspects of the project respectively.

The Harker substation location is key for power flows and solving locational constraints, ultimately reducing costs for consumers. The Harker project will have the capability to provide inertia and reactive power services which are required to help manage the network in the region following the retirement of plants such as the Heysham nuclear power station.

In addition to enhancing the security of the network, the project has committed, in-line with Innova’s Community Promise, to a series of community and charitable benefit schemes designed to support local organisations and initiatives. These arrangements which will now be delivered by Zenobē, involve Rockcliffe and Westlinton Parish Councils, Rockcliffe Community Centre, and The Country Trust. The funding is intended to contribute to community wellbeing and charitable objectives over the life of the project.

Zenobē is following its strategy of developing, owning and operating transmission-scale assets to enhance the security of Britain’s energy network and reduce consumer bills. The acquisition of the Harker site represents a significant step towards the business’ goal of having c.3.5GW / 12 GWh of BESS in operation by 2030.

The project will draw on Zenobē’s experience implementing grid-forming inverters as seen at its Blackhillock site in Scotland – Europe’s largest battery project at the time of going live. This means the site can participate in multiple market “stacking” services, allowing Zenobē to provide several strategic contributions to the GB grid – ensuring the lights stay on, the cost of energy stays down, and the grid doesn’t waste the renewable energy available.

Commenting, Zenobē’s Global Director of Network Infrastructure Semih Oztreves said: “The Harker project marks another milestone in delivering the flexible, resilient energy infrastructure the UK needs to accelerate its transition to net zero. We’re excited to take forward the development of this strategically important site and are committed to engaging with the local community to ensure the project delivers meaningful benefits throughout its lifetime. 

Over the coming months, our team will be building our Route to Market and procurement strategy and look forward to engaging with the market on this. The site reflects our long-term commitment to developing, owning and operating battery solutions that support the energy transition without reliance on government subsidies.”

Commenting on behalf of Innova, Daniel Mushin (Chief Investment Officer) and Jon Sheppard (Investment Manager) said: “The Harker project demonstrates how our development expertise has been helping to unlock clean energy infrastructure, and we’re delighted to continue working with Zenobē to accelerate the deployment of transmission scale BESS across the UK. 

We’re proud to have brought this project through its critical early stages of development, and we’re confident it will play an instrumental role in supporting a more resilient energy system.”

Commenting on behalf of JLL, Max Stirling (Director – Energy & Infrastructure Advisory) said: “We’re proud to have advised Innova on this landmark transaction. Early in the process Zenobē was quick to identify the exceptional quality of the Harker project – a testament to Innova’s development expertise in creating transmission-connected BESS assets that address critical grid infrastructure needs.

Congratulations to Zenobē on this significant acquisition, we wish them every success as they take the project into construction. The scale of this transaction underscores the strong investor appetite for high-quality battery energy storage systems in Great Britain, reflecting the sector’s vital role in delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions.”

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 1.2GW of battery storage assets in operation or under construction.

Zenobē has around 25% market share of the UK EV bus sector and supports over 3,400 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.

Innova is a forward-thinking renewable energy business with offices in London and Cheltenham and over a decade of experience in the UK renewable energy sector. Innova’s

long-term mission is to develop, build and operate a range of utility scale, innovative and environmentally sustainable energy solutions using multiple technologies.

Innova is one of the largest developers of renewable energy and data centres in the UK, with over 50 DNO and Transmission connected sites under development or in operation across England and Wales, with a combined solar and storage capacity exceeding 8GW and over 7GW of data centres.

Innova offers an integrated approach to renewable energy development and operations, with capabilities spanning the full lifecycle of a project. This includes planning, grid connections, project rights development, financing, construction, asset management, power purchase agreements, and long-term operations.

For more information about Innova’s mission, projects and services, please visit www.innova.co.uk.