Rivington Energy buys 139-MW UK solar-storage portfolio from Gridserve today

• Rivington Energy acquired 139 MW of co-located solar-plus-battery projects in England from Gridserve, adding flexible capacity and accelerating its British buildout strategy.

Rivington Energy has acquired a 139-MW portfolio of co-located solar and battery energy storage (BESS) projects in England from Gridserve, marking a decisive step in the company’s push to scale flexible renewables in the UK. The package consists of shovel-ready and late-stage assets sized for local grid nodes, combining utility-scale PV with multi-hour batteries to shift daytime output into evening peaks and provide fast frequency and voltage support.

The strategic appeal is twofold. First, co-location shares a single interconnection—lowering capex, trimming round-trip losses relative to standalone storage, and streamlining dispatch through a unified plant controller. Second, dispersing projects across several substations spreads congestion risk and allows staged energisation, bringing benefits online sooner than a single mega-site could.

Technically, expect a modern, grid-friendly design: high-efficiency modules on single-axis trackers (or optimized fixed-tilt where terrain demands), DC/AC ratios tuned for annual yield rather than headline peaks, and plant controls configured for reactive power, fault ride-through, and rapid curtailment response. Battery containers will feature sectionalised fire-safety systems, acoustic treatments, and grid-forming inverters capable of synthetic inertia—capabilities the GB system increasingly requires as renewable penetration rises.

Planning conditions at BESS sites are now well understood—fire engineering, landscaping, and biodiversity measures such as species-rich grasslands and hedgerow reinforcement. Rivington says it will standardise EPC templates and lock long-lead equipment early (transformers, switchgear, protection gear), the pacing items that have stretched schedules nationwide.

Commercially, the portfolio is built for stacked revenues: energy arbitrage, capacity payments, and ancillary services. Where suitable, corporate PPAs can anchor cash flows; measured merchant exposure captures upside when spreads widen. Unified SCADA and analytics across the fleet should lift availability and catch underperforming strings or battery modules before they dent performance.

For host communities, benefits include construction jobs, local procurement, and dependable business-rates income, alongside clear decommissioning and site-restoration provisions. With this acquisition, Rivington converts pipeline into practical progress—deploying flexible, dispatchable clean power that makes the most of Britain’s expanding solar base while easing evening ramps and price volatility.