21st January 2025
Gore
Street Energy Storage Fund plc
(the
"Company" or "GSF")
Improved GB Revenue and
Successful Energisation of Big Rock (200 MW/400 MWh US
Asset)
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc,
the internationally diversified energy storage fund, is pleased to
announce a portfolio update and the energisation of "Big Rock" -
the 200 MW / 400 MWh asset in California - bringing the Company's
total energised capacity to 621.4 MW / 792.1 MWh across five
grids.
Trading and Portfolio Update:
For the calendar year ending 31
December 2024, the Company is estimating an operational portfolio
revenue of c.£37.7m (weighted portfolio average:
c.£10.83/MW/hr)1 and an operational EBITDA of c.£24.5m
representing an EBITDA margin of 65%.
Based on the 2025/26 mid-case NAV
revenue forecasts from several third-party providers, the
annualised 12-month portfolio revenue run-rate during FY 2025/26 is
estimated2 at c.£72m on 753.4 MW of operational
capacity. The operational EBITDA margin3 for this period
is expected to be 69%, a 4% increase compared to the 2024 calendar
year largely due to improved economies of
scale as the new larger Great Britain (GB) assets stabilise. The
increase in revenue to £12.32/MW/hr can be attributed to the
Company's increased geographic diversification following assets in
construction becoming operational, resulting in a greater
proportion of assets in higher-yielding markets.
Since the start of the current
financial year4, GB revenue has steadily increased over
recent periods. Market indices (Modo 1-hour BESS Index) indicate
that December 2024 was the highest monthly revenue for BESS in the
GB market since July 2023. Dynamic Containment saw its highest
average price since July 2023, a sign of the recovery of ancillary
services prices in GB, reflecting a slower build-out, along with
more competitive bidding strategies in the market.
The Investment Manager has also
developed an in-house route-to-market capability and to-date has
onboarded five GB assets with a combined capacity totalling 78.5
MW. Since November 2024, the GSET portfolio5 has
outperformed the Modo 1-hour BESS benchmark by 19.0%.
Successful Energisation of US Asset, Big
Rock:
The "Big Rock" project in California
is now energised, representing a 47% increase in the Company's
energised capacity, which now stands at 621.4 MW / 792.1 MWh. Big
Rock is the Company's largest asset to date, with a capacity of 200
MW / 400 MWh.
As previously announced, the Big
Rock project has secured a 12-year fixed-price Resource Adequacy
(RA) contract, which has a value of over $165 million over the
contract life. The RA is stackable, enabling the asset to
participate in multiple revenue streams concurrently. RA revenue
will commence in June 2025, but the asset is expected to start
generating merchant revenue in advance of June.
The Big Rock project is expected to
receive an investment tax credit (ITC) of up to 30% of qualifying
capital expenditures under the Inflation Reduction Act. The
Investment Manager is currently engaging with several
counterparties to monetise these credits alongside those available
for the Dogfish project. The pricing for these ITCs, based on
numerous term sheets received, have remained in line with
expectations and previous guidance to-date, signifying market
confidence in these tax credits.
Construction Update:
Construction continues to progress
well at Dogfish, the 75 MW / 75 MWh asset in Texas, with all major
cabling works complete. The asset remains on track for energisation
in February. A delay in energising Enderby, the 57 MW / 57 MWh
asset in GB, is attributable to last-minute transformer inspection
requirements imposed by National Grid Electricity Transmission
(NGET). The Company, working alongside its suppliers, are pushing
to have it energised promptly, with the next scheduled window for
energisation expected in the coming weeks. Once these two remaining
assets in the Company's focused pipeline are energised, the
Company's energised portfolio will be 753.4 MW / 924.1 MWh across
five grids.
Factsheets:
The Company produces a monthly
factsheet, in addition to quarterly updates, to communicate
developments from across its portfolio and
markets in which it operates. The publications, including the
December factsheet released today, are available on the Company's
website here.
Alex O'Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital, the
Investment Manager of the Company,
commented:
"I am pleased to announce the
energisation of the Big Rock project in California, marking our
successful entry into a fifth energy market and a more than
doubling of energised capacity across the portfolio on a MWh basis.
With the recent 12-year Resource Adequacy contract secured, the
portfolio now benefits from significant contracted income and has
surpassed 620 MW / 792 MWh of energised capacity. This achievement
reflects our commitment to executing against our mandate, made
possible through leveraging our in-house expertise with dedicated
teams for construction, asset management and
route-to-market/optimisation. Our active approach to optimising an
asset's revenue stack has tangible benefits for the portfolio, as
illustrated by the revenue outperformance of the internally managed
assets in GB. Overall, we are happy to see recent material uplifts
in revenue across the GB market. We are also pleased to see such
strong interest in the sale of the ITCs in the US, with multiple
counterparties bidding.
The energised portfolio is expected
to soon reach the targeted capacity of 753.4 MW / 924.1 MWh, with
the upcoming energisation of Enderby and Dogfish. As such, we
expect the portfolio to generate increased revenue and the
resulting free cash flow available to support dividend
cover."
1. Based on an
average operational capacity of 396.85 MW.
2. The c.£72 m
revenue accounts for the Company's percentage ownership of the
assets.
3. This estimate
is based on current market conditions as of the date of this
announcement only and is not a profit forecast. There can be no
assurance that this target will be met. This target and the other
targets described in this announcement should not be taken as an
indication of GSF's expected or actual current or future
EBITDA.
4. The Company's
financial year commenced in April 2024.
5. Gore Street
Energy Trading (GSET): The Port of Tilbury asset is excluded from
this revenue comparison as revenue data access is delayed due to
the asset's commercial structure.
For further
information:
Gore Street Capital
Limited
Alex O'Cinneide / Paula Travesso /
Ben Paulden
Email:
ir@gorestreetcap.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3826 0290
Shore Capital (Joint Corporate
Broker)
Anita Ghanekar / Sophie Collins
(Corporate Advisory)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408
4090
Fiona Conroy (Corporate
Broking)
J.P. Morgan Cazenove (Joint
Corporate Broker)
William Simmonds / Jérémie Birnbaum
(Corporate Finance)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3493
8000
Burson Buchanan (Media
Enquiries)
Charles Ryland / Henry Wilson /
Samuel Adams
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466
5000
Email: gorestreet@buchanan.uk.com
Notes to Editors
About Gore Street Energy Storage
Fund plc
Gore Street is London's first listed
and internationally diversified energy storage fund dedicated to
the low-carbon transition. It seeks to provide Shareholders with
sustainable returns from their investment in a diversified
portfolio of utility-scale energy storage projects. In addition to
growth through increasing operational capacity and a considerable
pipeline, the Company aims to deliver consistent and robust
dividend yield as income distributions to its
Shareholders.
https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com
