Habitat Energy (renewable energy) has been appointed to trade and optimise a co-located solar and battery storage portfolio developed by AGR Renewables, a UK renewables developer backed by pension fund investor Railpen, under a seven-year fully merchant agreement covering three sites across England.

The Portfolio and Its Sites

The agreement covers a 157MW Battery Energy Storage System portfolio co-located with 133MWp of Solar PV across three separate sites. East Socon, located in Cambridgeshire, comprises a 50MW, 2.5-hour BESS.

Little Hale in Lincolnshire features an identical 50MW, 2.5-hour configuration. The third site, Priory Generation in Bedfordshire, adds a 57MW, 2.5-hour BESS to the portfolio. All three sites are expected to enter operations in mid-2027.

The deal is structured as a fully merchant agreement, meaning AGR Renewables will forgo fixed-price revenue certainty in favour of capturing the full upside of Habitat Energy's optimisation capabilities across open market trading and revenue streams.

What Habitat Energy Will Do

Under the partnership, Habitat Energy will optimise the battery storage assets around the co-located solar generation in real-time. The company will deploy what it describes as bespoke AI-powered price and weather forecasting tools to determine the optimal dispatch strategy across all available markets and revenue streams. All decisions will be overseen by a 24/7 trading team.

Jon Doughty, UK Managing Director at Habitat Energy, said that co-locating solar and storage creates economic advantages but requires complex, data-driven strategies to be successful.

"Exactly the kind of complexity Habitat thrives on," he said, adding that the company is proud to be AGR Renewables' partner of choice in ensuring the projects deliver maximum value for investors and the environment.

Strategic Significance for AGR Renewables and Railpen

AGR Renewables was founded by Oliver Breidt, who described the portfolio as a key pillar of the company's strategy to deliver 1GW of operational renewable assets by the end of 2027. Breidt cited Habitat Energy's deep expertise in merchant trading and its approach to co-located asset management as the factors that distinguished the company during the selection process.

Railpen, the pension fund that backs AGR Renewables, also holds a direct stake in the outcome of the agreement. Cristiana Dochioiu, Investment Manager at Railpen, noted that the arrangement is intended to enable the three sites to reach their full potential by optimising operational performance and strengthening the UK's energy security.

She also pointed to an existing relationship between Railpen and Habitat Energy, referencing prior collaboration on a number of Constantine Energy Storage projects as context for the renewed partnership through AGR Renewables.

Grid and Policy Context

The three sites are positioned within the broader policy context of the UK government's Clean Power 2030 goal. Once operational, AGR Renewables and Habitat Energy said the assets will contribute to the country's flexible energy infrastructure, helping to maximise renewable generation and enhance energy security.

The combination of behind-the-meter solar with dispatchable battery storage is increasingly seen as a mechanism for smoothing grid volatility as renewable penetration rises.

Milestone for Habitat Energy's UK and Global Footprint

The AGR Renewables deal carries specific significance for Habitat Energy's growth trajectory. The company confirmed that the agreement brings its UK portfolio to 2GW of assets under contract. Across its global operations, Habitat Energy now has 5.5GW of battery storage and renewable energy assets under management.

The company describes itself as a leading global optimiser of battery storage and renewable energy assets, and the latest deal represents a continued push to scale its presence in the UK market ahead of the 2027 site commissioning dates.

The three-site portfolio also reflects a growing commercial trend in the UK energy sector, where developers are increasingly pairing large-scale solar installations with grid-scale battery storage to improve the commercial viability of both technologies.

The merchant structure of the agreement places the revenue risk and reward squarely with the asset owner, while delegating the analytical and trading execution to a specialist optimiser.

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