Our Energy Transition, Infrastructure & Projects ("ETIP") team has advised SolarCentury Africa ("SCA") on the groundbreaking 14 MW/MWh Battery Energy Storage System ("BESS") project in Gibraltar which recently reached financial close. Representing a total cost of £16.5 million, this project will offset over 30,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually and provide energy savings for the Gibraltar Electricity Authority.

Gowling WLG supported SCA on the Concession Agreement with the Gibraltar Electricity Authority (on behalf of the Government of Gibraltar) and on the EPC and O&M Contracts with international suppliers. The team included Head of International Projects and Co-Head of Africa Group, partner Jonathan Brufal, senior associate Michael Jack and associate Jamie Desmond.

Jonathan Brufal commented: "This is a major, first of its kind project for battery storage in Gibraltar and we are proud to have supported SCA on this transaction. The project demonstrates Gowling WLG's market-leading experience in the BESS sector and will have a clear benefit to the Gibraltar power system by reducing reliance on diesel back-up generators."

Tom Gray, Legal Counsel at SCA commented: "It was a pleasure working with Gowling WLG on this transaction and we really appreciate the support Jonathan, Michael and Jamie gave us. We could rely on them to give us expert but practical advice, based on current market trends and positions. They were also prepared to spend time explaining things clearly to us, provide different options and set out the pros and cons of each option, which was very helpful. Jonathan and his team have played an important role in Solar Century Africa's development over the last 18 months, as we have grown significantly in size and ambition, and we look forward to working more with them in the future”.

This project follows other recent work by the ETIP team on leading BESS developments in the UK including Sheaf Energy Park (249MW) and two projects developed by Zenobe.

Gowling WLG's ETIP team operates internationally, serving clients in numerous energy technologies, including ag-energy, biogas, capacity markets, energy storage, geothermal, hydro, hydrogen, nuclear, oil and gas, solar, and wind. We advise governments, regulators, project developers, network companies, financial institutions and investors, energy suppliers and traders, technology companies and sector supply chains, among others.