Carlton Power and Stag Energy to merge

Independent energy developers Carlton Power and Stag Energy have announced plans to merge their operations to focus on energy storage and grid stability services including the provision of system inertia, reactive power and short circuit capacity.

The combined company will also continue the development of a portfolio of green hydrogen production projects and launch a new carbon advisory business later this year.

Carlton Power is currently leading the development of the Trafford Energy Park in Manchester, which includes Highview Power’s 50MW/MWh liquid air energy storage facility, a 200MW hydrogen electrolyser and hub for transport and heating and a 250MW battery storage facility.

The park also includes Carlton Power’s proposed 2GW Trafford combined-cycle gas turbine plant, which forfeited a Capacity Market contract in 2016. The company said the power station could potentially be operated with green hydrogen or natural gas with carbon capture and storage.

Carlton Power is additionally looking to add energy storage and electrolyser facilities at its Langage Energy Park near Plymouth.

Stag Energy originated four open-cycle gas turbine projects which it sold Drax in 2019 and has also developed a portfolio of small-scale back-up gas engines.  It is currently developing projects to participate in National Grid Electricity System Operator’s pathfinder initiative, which includes services for system inertia, reactive power and short circuit level contribution.

The combined entity will operate as part of the Carlton Power Group and include key staff from both companies, including Carlton Power founder Keith Clark and Stag Energy founder George Grant.

Clark said: “Our combined capabilities provide an unparalleled track record of successfully identifying, developing and delivering major infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe.  Over the past 30 years, the team has delivered more than 6GW of both thermal and renewables generation.  Importantly, looking ahead there are a range of business opportunities that we see to be vital for the UK energy system to safely navigate its way towards Net Zero. It’s an exciting future for all of us.”

“In addition to energy infrastructure projects, we have also established a carbon marketing and advisory business to facilitate the delivery of verified carbon certificates in the compliance and voluntary sectors.”

Grant added: “The combined company intends to capitalise on the continuing growth in the market for distributed low carbon energy projects and to continue to deliver quality investment opportunities for both strategic and financial partners.”