Limejump’s power platform has passed 1.5GW of capacity for the first time since the company was established in 2013.
The platform connects and optimises solar, wind, hydro, gas, anaerobic digestion, biomass, CHP energy from waste, batteries and peaking assets, and has grown 25% since the beginning of 2021.
It has added more than 400MW of renewable generation to its portfolio across 200 sites since January. The news follows the company, which is part of Shell’s Renewables & Energy Solutions division, announcing in February that it had added more than 200 renewable generators to its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), growing its capacity by 170MW in 2021.
Limejump’s team has worked closely with renewable generators to sign these PPAs, taking advantage of the volatility in the energy markets throughout the beginning of the year, said Catherine Newman, the company’s chief executive
While the majority of the new capacity comes from wind, solar, hydro and anaerobic digestion assets, Limejump has added 70MW of battery storage and peaking assets to the platform. These will be going live later this year, and will be optimised in the full suite of wholesale markets and ancillary services, the company said.
In September 2020, the company began trading its first wind farm, the 46MW Crossdykes onshore site, in the Balancing Mechanism back in September 2020.
“Since January, the forward power market has grown unlike any other year in recent history, from £58/MWh to £98/MWh,” added Genna Boyle, Limejump’s head of renewables and flexibility.
“The bullish momentum that we have seen in power prices this year has been predominantly driven by tight gas and carbon markets as well as an ever-changing UK power generation stack.”
Current± caught up with Newman to discuss power price volatility and the ancillary service Limejump is targeting recently.
