Swiss energy storage developer BW ESS has secured project financing for its battery energy storage system (BESS) near Bramley, England.  

The funding, sourced from Westpac and United Overseas Bank (UOB), will support the 100 MW/331 MWh project, marking BW ESS’s first project finance for a UK site. 

Westpac and UOB will each provide half of the undisclosed finance amount.  

BW ESS has entered a seven-year tolling agreement with Shell Energy Europe for the Bramley project.  

Westpac head of energy, infrastructure and resources Sarah Heavy said: “As Westpac continues to build its international presence supporting our global customers, we are delighted to support BW ESS in its first UK project financing and look forward to replicating this success more widely across Europe and Australia.” 

BW ESS CFO Marc Weisser said: “Bramley is a flagship asset in our growing UK portfolio. We were nonetheless encouraged by the exceptionally high level of interest the project generated from the lending community.  

“We could not be happier with our final choice of lending partners; both UOB and Westpac have demonstrated a firm commitment to supporting the global rollout of strategically significant BESS projects and share our interest in unlocking the value of energy storage.” 

The financing follows BW ESS’s recent loan agreement with Nordea Bank for its 211 MWh Swedish BESS portfolio. 

BW ESS said that the deal comes after a “highly competitive financing process”. 

In a separate news earlier this month, Luminous Energy secured a £5.5m three-year development finance facility with Novuna Business Finance.  

The funding will be used to support Luminous’s transition from a developer to an independent power producer (IPP), aiding projects in the UK, Australia, the US, and Germany. 

Novuna has taken security over Luminous’s UK solar development portfolio, which includes the Bracon Ash project.  

This project was previously supported by Novuna through senior debt financing.