Israel’s Econergy to Build 800MW Storage, 900MW Solar Capacity in UK

Renewables investor Econergy Renewable Energy said on Thursday it plans to develop a portfolio of 800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy storage and 900 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Britain over the next three years.

The firm said it plans to develop 350 MW of energy storage capacity for operation in 2023, 300 MW for 2024 and 150 MW for 2025. It also aims to develop 900 MW of solar PV projects by early 2025, a spokesperson of the company said.

As a first step, Econergy has acquired a 50 MW storage project in Yorkshire, northern England, from UK renewables developer Yoo Energy, for an undisclosed sum.

“The UK is a key market for Econergy and is leading the development of storage technology, which has a key role to play in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and enabling the clean energy transition,” said Econergy Chief Executive Eyal Podhorzer.

Econergy is listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange and develops solar PV, wind and storage projects in Europe, including Britain, Italy, Spain, Romania and Poland. It currently has 6 gigawatts (GW) of projects under development across Europe.

Last month, another Israeli-British energy partnership was announced. Israel-based developer Nofar Energy entered into UK renewable energy market by signing an agreement with Interland, an investment group focused on real estate and energy storage investments in the UK and Europe.

Under the agreement, Nofar and Interland will jointly own a dedicated platform for the origination, development, construction, financing, and operation of battery energy storage projects in the UK. Nofar will hold 75% of the joint venture, and Interland will account for the remaining 25%.

The first project of this new partnership will be Cellarhead, the UK’s largest planned battery energy storage project, according to Nofar. The project will connect to UK’s power grid using a 300 to 349 megawatt connection, with a storage capacity of about 700 megawatt-hours.