A pair of 50MW grid batteries in Northern Ireland, owned by Gore Street, have commenced operations, taking the investor’s portfolio of operational assets to 210MW.
The Mullavilly and Drumkee assets were completed on budget and in time to capture the earliest possible window to start earning revenues under the Northern Ireland DS3 contracts, Gore Street said.
The investor’s 210MW portfolio comprises 11 projects in Great Britain and Ireland and is expected to more than double operational cash flow from the consolidated portfolio.
As previously guided on 17 November 2020, the DS3 contracts available for the Mullavilly and Drumkee batteries have attractive return profiles, likely to be “considerably higher” than the Company’s 10% unlevered internal rate of return target for portfolio assets.
As previously announced, Gore Street’s Porterstown project has recently contracted Fluence for a fully wrapped construction of the battery system and has secured an option to expand its capacity from 30MW to 90MW.
Following an update from Eirgrid, phase one (30MW) is now expected to be commissioned in early 2022 and phase two (60MW) will follow in due course.
Similarly Gore Street plans to expand the capacity of its Kilmannock project from 30MW to a potential 90MW, which is currently going through an application process.
Gore Street is engaging with stakeholders to secure a “streamlined construction schedule” with a definitive connection date to be confirmed.
The Company’s pipeline of new investment opportunities continues to grow and now amounts to over 1.3GW in attractive opportunities in the UK and Internationally.
As disclosed on 8 March 2021 Gore Street is considering utilising its placing programme to capitalise on these opportunities and looks forward to further updating investors as appropriate.
Additionally, Gore Street has secured a £15m revolving credit facility with Santander to support the continued growth of the company and will enable Gore Street to finance the construction of existing projects and to purchase new grid-scale battery storage projects from its investment pipeline.
Alex O’Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital, said: “The fact that Gore Street’s NI assets are two of the few assets to have secured the 1 April 2021 gate clearly demonstrates Gore Street Capital’s expertise in delivering for our shareholders in this rapidly maturing asset class, where proven experience is instrumental for optimising performance.
“With the additional operational cashflow from this 100MW, Gore Street reiterates its earnings expectation to more than double its expected consolidated operational cash flow.
“The £15m facility RCF from Santander demonstrates a further recognition of the Company’s continuing leadership in the asset class and the increasing maturity of the energy storage sector. It will support our growth ambitions and will be used to optimise the capital structure of the Company.”