During the first half of the year, approximately £3.7 billion in debt financing was mobilised for renewable energy, including offshore wind, solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and colocation technologies.

Despite regulatory uncertainty surrounding system charging reforms, zonal pricing, and the CFD auction timeline, investor and lender appetite has remained firm. Several financing processes are ongoing or set to launch in the coming months.

“This volume demonstrates strong appetite from lenders as developers continue to execute their pipelines,” says Brian Potskowski, Head of UK & Ireland, Advisory, of Aurora Energy Research. “Despite ongoing uncertainty over the past months regarding zonal pricing, TNUoS reforms, and AR7 timelines in Great Britain, deal activity remains robust, with multiple new equity and debt financing processes seeking to launch over the summer months across renewables and energy storage.”

Key market trends

Aurora also highlights five themes that have emerged as top priorities for stakeholders across the UK energy market:

1. Growing interest in BESS, particularly regarding tolling agreements, optimiser performance, and how battery sizing impacts profitability in a volatile trading environment.

2. Asset locationality, as system use charges evolve and the electricity market may undergo structural redesign.

3. Grid connection challenges, with concerns over non-firm access and curtailment risks prompting more detailed assessment of optimal connection sizing.

4. Electricity Market Reform (REMA) remains a strategic focus. While zonal pricing has been ruled out, new measures to enhance system efficiency are being explored.

5. Strong interest in the AR7 CFD auction, with investors analysing eligibility and competitiveness, particularly for hybrid and repowered assets.

Key transactions

Among the most notable deals was the acquisition of the Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT) by Foresight Group. HEIT is the largest operational BESS platform in Europe, and the offer represented a 94% premium over the previous closing price—signalling strong confidence in the UK BESS market.

Another key project is Cleve Hill Solar Park, the largest solar-plus-storage development currently under construction in the UK, which secured significant funding from domestic banking institutions.

In offshore wind, the Inchcape project in Scotland (1.08 GW) reached financial close in January 2025, raising over £3.5 billion in funding through a syndicate of 22 commercial banks. Originally consented in 2014, Inchcape marks a major milestone in the development of UK offshore wind.

The sale of BioCapital, the UK’s leading anaerobic digestion platform, was also completed. The company recycles over 500,000 tonnes of food waste annually and generates green energy that avoids up to 360,000 tonnes of CO? emissions each year. In all of these projects Aurora Energy Research provided due diligence support.

According to the analysis, the UK continues to consolidate its position as a European leader in the transition to a low-carbon energy infrastructure—demonstrating that market momentum persists despite regulatory headwinds.