Drax Group has signed a 10-year tolling agreement for a 250MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the East Midlands. The move adds scale to Drax’s growing storage portfolio and supports its strategy to build out flexible energy capacity alongside its renewable generation assets.
The deal is with FIDRA Energy, which will develop and construct the project. Drax will operate the completed facility, managing when power is stored and released. This approach lets Drax grow its presence in storage without committing full capital to construction.
The East Midlands project is expected to be operational in 2026. It forms part of Drax’s broader pipeline of BESS assets, including confirmed projects in North Yorkshire and a planned site in Swansea. In total, Drax is targeting over 800MW of battery capacity.
With this tolling model, Drax gains the benefit of predictable revenue over the life of the agreement, while also entering new commercial markets such as energy trading and frequency response. It strengthens the company’s ability to respond quickly to price and demand shifts, which is increasingly valuable in a grid with high renewable penetration.
Drax Group plc (LON:DRX), trading as Drax, is a power generation business. The principal downstream enterprises are based in the UK and include Drax Power Limited, which runs the biomass fuelled Drax power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire.
