Bristol-headquartered law firm TLT has advised on another major energy deal – this time the acquisition of one of the UK’s largest energy storage schemes.
It worked with Eelpower, an independent provider of flexible energy services, to enable it to buy the recently-completed 20MW Rock Farm scheme in Shropshire, pictured, from Anesco for an undisclosed sum. 
Rock Farm has 16 1.25MW BYD-manufactured storage units and was developed and constructed by Anesco. It was commissioned by the company in June.
Eelpower has multiple long-term Firm Frequency Response (FFR) contracts from the National Grid. The acquisition of Rock Farm is one of a number that Eelpower plans to complete between now and 2022 to deliver 1GW of storage capacity, at an estimated cost of £500m.
TLT advised Eelpower on the end-to-end acquisition, including due diligence and finalising the terms of the agreement. The team was led by Antonia Silvestri, corporate partner, alongside corporate solicitor Sarah Bratton-Bishop, construction partner Nick Pincott, construction solicitor Andrew Russell, real estate associate Jessica Jeanes, planning legal director Fergus Charlton and real estate partner and head of clean energy Maria Connolly.
Eelpower chief executive Mark Simon said: “With the transition to a flexible, decentralised energy system moving at pace, Eelpower is responding to the market opportunity. We intend to deploy significant battery capacity to provide National Grid and local grid companies with the flexibility that the system needs while building a platform for us to profitably trade electricity.
“Our working relationship with Anesco and the in-depth knowledge and advice we have received from our lawyers TLT has been invaluable, helping us to take advantage of the opportunities in the storage market.”
TLT partner Antonia Silvestri added: “The energy storage market continues to grow and M&A activity remains high as investors see opportunities to evolve these sites and generate revenues. We are pleased to have supported Eelpower with this significant acquisition in this competitive market and to help it reach its growth targets.”
TLT was ranked one of Clean Energy Investment Trends report in May, which looks at a range of clean energy technologies including battery storage.
Rock Farm image courtesy of Eelpower
