EDF and SWGT announce long-term innovative optimisation agreement for flagship battery project

SWGT, a leading independent battery storage asset manager in the UK, have recently signed an innovative long-term battery optimisation agreement with EDF. The partnership will see SWGT’s 30MW utility scale battery storage asset optimised across a variety of grid flexibility schemes, as well as through EDF’s market leading trading platform, Powershift. The agreement will also provide income stability through the delivery of a ‘floor price’, ensuring minimum income levels are guaranteed. 

The agreement provides SWGT and their investors with certainty that they will achieve an attractive return and leverage EDF’s industry leading trading expertise to ensure access to all revenue streams available, including the wholesale market and grid services, such as Dynamic Containment. This new partnership brings the total amount of assets under optimisation by EDF to 255MW.

Coupling with its pipeline of more than 180MW, SWGT is becoming one of the UK’s largest independent battery storage asset owners, developers and operators. This project supports the growth of renewable energy sources by providing up to 65GWH of annual energy import and export capacity to the National Grid during its phase one development, that are critical to meeting the UK’s carbon emission reduction targets. In addition, with its 25-container market leading all-in-one Li-lon integrated battery storage solution, the project reduces energy transmission pressure and costs, and provides significant contribution to the future flexibility and grid stability.

Olivia He, Chief Investment Officer at SWGT said: “This project is testimony to the resilience of the energy transition fuelled by innovation and a strong appetite for renewable energy from investors. Phase One establishes a solid foundation for SWGT’s growth ambition and vision to become the preeminent UK renewable energy sponsor, supporting the integration of low-carbon power generation locally and worldwide. By bringing together the leading-edge expertise of our energy management partner, EDF, into a scalable, capital and risk efficient structure, we have created a launch pad for capital deployment into the decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitisation of the new energy market.”

Adam Clarke, Commercial Lead at EDF added: “We’re pleased that SWGT has chosen to partner with EDF on this project because of the level of expertise the EDF optimisation team have and also, our commercial scale as an organisation in the distributed energy asset management sector. We’ve been able to offer SWGT a long-term deal that not only creates an attractive revenue scheme but also provides bankable reassurance through the floor price, whilst also delivering on our ambition to help Britain achieve Net Zero.”

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For more information contact:

EDF Energy Media Team media@edfenergy.com or edfenergy@goodrelations.co.uk

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About EDF

EDF is helping Britain achieve Net Zero by leading the transition to a cleaner, low emission electric future and tackling climate change. We are Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, meeting around one-fifth of the country’s demand and supplying millions of customers with electricity and gas.

With around 5 million accounts, EDF is one of the largest suppliers to British homes and businesses and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. All of our home and small business customers get energy tariffs backed by zero carbon electricity as standard.

We generate low carbon electricity from eight nuclear power stations, more than thirty onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms, and operate one of Britain’s biggest battery storage units, one gas and one coal power station, thousands of EV charge-points, and combined heat and power plants. Wind, nuclear and solar all produce electricity that is zero carbon at the point of generation and have similar emissions over the build, run and retire lifecycles.

EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and is leading the development of plans for a replica at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes.

EDF is one of the UK’s largest investors in renewables, with 1GW of renewable generation in operation and over 4GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage. We are constructing our largest offshore wind farm in Britain – the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe project in Scotland which will be ready in 2023.

Our energy services business, Imtech, is one of the largest technical service providers in the UK and Ireland.

EDF is part of EDF Group, the world’s biggest electricity generator. In the UK we employ around 13,000 people.

About SWGT

SWGT is a UK based asset management firm specializing in origination, development, investment and management of renewable energy and power generation real assets. We are dedicated to the energy transition to a low-carbon ecosystem by promoting renewable energy development, and committing our global teams and impact capital to the long-term prosperity of the region. 

SWGT aims to continuously provide innovative solutions to the UK battery energy storage development, with its well positioned global presence, leveraging expertise and resources in green technology, power trading and optimization strategy, financial engineering, digitalization, and international network.

SWGT is sponsored by SIFT Capital, an asset manager founded in Hong Kong in 2013 and licensed by Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (“HKSFC”) and Asset Management Association of China (“AMAC”). SIFT has long term joint venture partners encompassing prominent family offices in Europe and the GCC region as well as leading energy and financial institutions in Asia. SIFT is committed to focus on asset management business with Hong Kong as a launchpad and producing assets with robust investment.

For more information of SWGT please visit our website:

www.swgt.co.uk

SWGT Media Team

+44 (0)207 519 6865

info@swgt.co.uk                           

Definition of Battery Energy Storage System projects and utility-scale battery storage systems

BESS projects are utility-scale battery storage systems.  These projects are the enabling infrastructure that will support the continued growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, essential to the UK's stated target to reduce carbon emissions. They store excess energy generated by renewable energy sources and then release that stored energy back into the grid during peak hours when there is increased demand.