ContourGlobal CEO confirms 800 MW UK pipeline after 2 GWh BESS deal

ContourGlobal is active in many of the world’s biggest solar and storage markets but until recently it had not cracked the United Kingdom. That changed with the company’s June 24 announcement it acquired the 500 MW/2 GWh Wallace battery energy storage project (BESS) in Ayr, Scotland, from local developer New Energy Partnership Ltd.

Speaking to ESS News at Intersolar in Munich, ContourGlobal CEO Antonio Cammisecra praised the United Kingdom’s “sophisticated market,” adding that since he became head of the KKR-backed business two years ago he has strongly advocated the UK to become one of its main markets.

The Scottish Wallace project is now the largest BESS by capacity in ContourGlobal’s portfolio. “We plan to have a very big focus on the UK going forward,” said Cammisecra, “possibly our third or even second market.”

As per its website, ContourGlobal is active in 17 countries but Cammisecra said it focuses on 10 primary markets – including Chile where it commissioned a hybrid solar and storage project with a 200 MW/1.3 GWh BESS and the United States where it is about to start building a hybrid solar and storage facility in Arizona featuring 360 MW/1.4 GWh of BESS.

The company has established a dedicated team in the UK and has developed close relationships with local developers. The Wallace site in Ayr can make money through participation in the UK’s Balancing Mechanism, a framework through which Scottish BESS projects can benefit from strong dispatch activity.

Cammisecra said the UK’s data center market and its need to store excess generation of wind power will be key demand areas as the business expands its share of the market. Other developers active in Scotland’s booming BESS market, such as Apatura and Zenobe, are already focusing on meeting this demand for grid flexibility.

But Cammisecra said standalone BESS will not be the sole focus; solar, wind and hybrid projects will also be part of the strategy. This is in keeping with the developer’s goal to hybridize and retrofit existing solar and wind projects to include storage in its portfolio worldwide.

The Wallace BESS is expected to participate in the upcoming UK Capacity Market auction, due in March 2027. It will combine contracted arrangements with merchant exposure in a market with strong appetite for tolling and route-to-market arrangements, according to the project’s new owners.

Wallace has full planning consent, land option secured and has been allocated Gate 2 (shovel-ready) under the UK’s grid connection reform process. Grid 2 projects receive firm connection dates under the rules which were introduced by UK market regulator Ofgem to tidy up the large connection queues and get rid of so-called zombie projects.

“We see a sophisticated market with the presence of sophisticated players, so tolling agreements, or smart contracts, smart power purchase agreements (PPAs) are very possible,” said Cammisecra, adding “There is a very clear regulatory framework and an absolutely outstanding business culture.”

He pointed out that ContourGlobal was also a UK-listed company – it was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker GLO – and the move into the project side of the market is “a coming home” for the developer.

While he could not share specific details yet, Cammisecra told ESS News that the company’s total development pipeline across the UK for solar, storage and wind projects is around 800 MW. It is eventually targeting gigawatt-scale status. Cammisecra said the business will spend the next few months growing its already-established UK team. “We hope to take the final investment decisions within this year and we will be in construction mode the beginning of next year … decide, plan, act very fast.”