New support of local community projects

Global clean energy enterprise TagEnergy is poised to add more than 350MW of clean energy to the UK grid over the next two years after celebrating the official opening of its second UK battery storage facility – the 49.5MW/99MWh Chapel Farm standalone energy storage system located near Luton, England.

The £30m development is the first of two projects in a joint venture between TagEnergy and Yorkshire-headquartered Harmony Energy.

Together they marked Chapel Farm’s opening by reinforcing their support for the local community signing a memorandum of understanding with the Chalton Parish Council to co-fund community projects that will contribute to biodiversity, education and decarbonisation in the local parish.

Franck Woitiez, Chief Executive Officer, TagEnergy said: “This is a momentous occasion for our business, the UK electricity market and the local community which continue to take significant steps in accelerating the journey towards decarbonisation in the UK and beyond.”

“Successful delivery of the second TagEnergy facility in the UK paves the way for other sites under construction that will, combined, deliver an additional 350MW clean energy to the UK grid over the next two years,” Mr Woitiez said.

“Support for the communities in which we operate is an integral part of our vision. We are proud to commemorate the opening of Chapel Farm by committing to support the local school’s green forest outdoor classroom,” he said.

Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy’s CEO and Co-Founder, said: “The completion and energisation of the Chapel Farm scheme is another significant milestone for us especially as it is the first JV project we have delivered with TagEnergy which has been a great partner.”

“Battery energy storage systems are essential to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK. These projects are not reliant upon taxpayer subsidy and will play a major role in contributing to the Net Zero transition, as well as ensuring the future security of the UK’s energy supply and reduced reliance on foreign gas imports.”

After TagEnergy acquired a 60% stake in Chapel Farm in November 2021, the green energy initiative was supported by a £12.5m funding package from another project partner, Santander UK. Construction commenced following financial close in March 2022.

Now live, Chapel Farm is using a system of Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries, together with Tesla’s Autobidder AI software for real-time trading and control. Leading independent renewable energy company RES is overseeing operations as asset manager.

Chapel Farm is the second TagEnergy renewable energy project to go online from its growing portfolio of close to 12GW in five countries – the UK, Spain, Portugal, France and Australia.

Its first UK facility to go live, the 20MW/40MWh Hawkers Hill Energy Park near Shaftesbury in Dorset, England, began operating in September 2022, following TagEnergy’s UK market entry in 2021.

Together, Chapel Farm and Hawkers Hill give TagEnergy a combined clean energy operational capacity of 69.6MW/139MWh in the UK.

Energy storage capacity from TagEnergy’s first two live projects, together with its other sites under construction, will bolster the UK grid by more than 350MW over the next two years alone.