Independent law firm Burges Salmon has advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) on one of Europe’s largest battery energy storage projects in Scotland.
The firm advised on the construction in Scotland of Coalburn 2 and Devilla, making CIP one of the largest battery storage investors in the UK.
The advise came as Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) started the construction of two new Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Scotland, including Coalburn 2, in South Lanarkshire, and Devilla, in Fife. Each project is sized at 500MW and once commissioned will be some of the largest of their kind in Europe.
Representing an investment of approximately £800m, the projects expand CIP’s UK BESS construction portfolio from one to three projects, with a total power capacity of 1.5GW able to store and supply the grid with 3GWh of electricity, equivalent to the electricity demand of over 4.5 million households, across a two-hour period.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the project was led by partner Lloyd James and director Laura Sharples. They were supported by senior associates Uba Emole and Ross Howells and associate Sophie Smith from the firm’s Construction and Engineering team.
Partner Alec Whiter and senior associate Charlotte Robinson from the firm’s Projects team also provided complex expertise on optimisation arrangements. Burges Salmon has a strong relationship with CIP having advised on the construction, operation and optimisation contracts to support the development of Coalburn 1 in December 2023.
Laura Sharples said:
“Working on the projects has been a collaborative effort, pooling resources from across the team to support CIP on the delivery of this nationally significant project.”
Lloyd James said:
“They (the projects) both present a significant economic boost for Scotland and position the UK as a key location for state-of-the-art BESS developments.”
Image of Lloyd James courtesy of Burges Salmon
