The Anonymous Widower

Recurrent Energy’s Middle Road Project Sold To Centrica

The title of this post, is the same as that pf this article on Solar Power Portal.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Recurrent Energy, a global solar and energy storage developer and a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, announced the sale of its 49.9 MWp Middle Road solar project in Harbury, Warwickshire, to Centrica Business Solutions. The subsidy-free project, slated for construction this summer, will commence operations in 2025.

The Middle Road project is just one piece of Recurrent Energy’s expanding UK pipeline, which boasts over 2.6 GWp of solar PV and 6.7 GWh of battery storage projects. This mirrors the broader trend of increased investment in UK solar. Indeed, Recurrent announced €1.3 billion of financing for EU and UK solar projects earlier this week.

This 49.9 MW solar project shows three ways to make money from a solar project.

The Developer

Recurrent Energy would appear to have developed the expertise to put together these solar farms and do all the legals and administration to connect them to the National Grid.

They obviously can show their financial backers, the cash flow, that the farms generates.

So if you’re good at building solar farms, I suspect you can develop a substantial pipeline of projects, each with their own case flow.

The Operator

Initially in the early days, Recurrent Energy will probably be the operator, so they can sort out any teething problems and build the financial profile of the site.

The Owner

But as at Middle Road, they may decide to cash in their investment.

Centrica have now taken over the ownership and they can operate the farm themselves or pay, Recurrent Energy a fee.

Note.

1. Developer, operator and owner all have ways of making money from this solar farm.
2. Developer and owner can use the solar farm, as an asset on which to raise money.
3. Similar cash flows and inside probably apply to batteries and wind farms.

By buying, selling and updating the various assets, a financial operator, can use their assets to make money.

As Centrica are also an electricity supplier, they can probably suggest to developers, where a solar farm or battery-electric storage system is needed.

Are Centrica Developing A Pipeline Of Projects?

In Centrica Set For Solar Boost With Acquisition Of Two Projects In South-West England, I talked about how Centrica had acquired two projects in South-West England.

The Middle Road project is the third project that Centrica has purchased this year.

As a Control and Electrical Engineer, I know, that by careful management of the assets, Centrica can achieve the following.

• Delivery of electricity to their customers at a competitive price.
• If a battery is included in the local grid, higher supply reliability can be achieved.
• Batteries also allow the local network to carry out other tasks, like frequency stabilisation.

The flexibility of the local network should allow other assets to be added.

May 31, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage, Finance | Centrica, Centrica Business Solutions, Recurrent Energy, Solar Power