Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has decided to go ahead with an announced plan to sell a 50% stake in the planned Coalburn 2 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). This important project, implemented by South Lanarkshire, southern Scotland. This 500MW, two-hour duration lithium-ion facility has a total of 1GWh. When complete, it’ll be big enough to energize more than 4.5 million homes. That transaction won’t take place until the site is commissioned, which is expected to be the case by October 16, 2025.
Coalburn 2 is one of three transmission-linked BESS assets that CIP and Alcemi co-developed together. The overall goal of the next phase of the project is to improve grid stability and assist with the incorporation of renewable energy sources throughout the UK. CIP will lead the delivery of Coalburn 2 during this current construction phase. Then, they will help keep the project on track to achieve all of its strategic goals, not just the least popular one.
Project Details and Financial Agreements
In December 2024, CIP decided to take a financial investment decision for Coalburn 2. This move is part of its strategy to grow energy storage capacities throughout the UK. The project benefits from a unique ten-year optimization contract with SSE. It has a 15-year capacity market agreement, which further reinforces its operational framework.
With the addition of Coalburn 2, CIP is actively developing an impressive portfolio of BESS projects, totaling 4.5GW across Scotland and England. In tandem, these assets will produce a combined 1.5GW of power capacity. They can draw and discharge up to a combined 3GWh, or 300GWh total capacity if used as stationary storage.
“As CIP’s development and construction portfolio of UK BESS projects continues to progress and grow, we look forward to welcoming AIP as a new partner on our Coalburn 2 site, which once commissioned in 2027 will be one of Europe’s biggest operational BESS projects.” – Nischal Agarwal
Enhancing Energy Security
Mining from Coalburn 2 is expected to provide a significant increase in UK originated energy security. Together with Coalburn 1 and Devilla, this project will transform the distribution of energy within the country. The goal of the project is to accelerate the deployment of low-cost, distributed renewable energy sources. This change will save British consumers money by increasing the flexibility of the system.
“The delivery of Coalburn 2, alongside CIP’s Coalburn 1 and Devilla projects, will improve the UK’s energy security, enable more low-cost renewables to be delivered, and reduce costs for British consumers through enhanced system flexibility.”
Greg Falzon expressed confidence in the venture, stating, “This investment reinforces our conviction in the UK energy storage market and reflects our strategy of partnering selectively on high-quality, ready-to-build or operational assets.”
Future Prospects
CIP’s leadership in the successful delivery of Coalburn 2 thus serves as a powerful demonstration of CIP’s commitment to the advancement of energy storage solutions throughout the region. To have formalized that partnership with AIP is a huge leap forward as the project edges closer to commissioning.
With the addition of the Coalburn 2 development, it will soon make the area one of Europe’s largest battery storage locations. It lays the groundwork for major future investments in energy storage technologies. The world is moving towards clean, renewable energy technologies. Projects like Coalburn 2 are tremendously important to creating the interconnected, resilient, flexible power infrastructure we need going forward.