Drax has signed a ten-year tolling agreement with West Burton C, owned by Fidra Energy, for a 250MW (500 megawatt-hour) battery energy storage system (BESS) in West Burton, UK.

Under the agreement, Fidra Energy will be responsible for the construction, maintenance and availability of the BESS asset throughout the contract duration. In exchange, Drax will pay an annual tolling fee indexed to the UK consumer price index.

Drax will retain all operational revenues apart from capacity market earnings. The arrangement involves no upfront capital costs for Drax.

Drax regards the deal as a capital-light way to expand its FlexGen portfolio with additional BESS capacity, complementing its physically owned BESS assets.

The contract is dependent on Fidra reaching a final investment decision by the third quarter of 2026 and commercial operations beginning by the second half of 2029.

The grid connection for the project is secured, with a targeted commercial operation date in 2028.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said: “Flexible generation technologies like battery storage will support a secure, affordable and clean energy system for British homes and businesses.

“Our first BESS tolling agreement is an important step in our ambition for a gigawatt-scale pipeline of battery storage opportunities, alongside our recent acquisitions of Flexitricity and three battery storage developments.

“We are working to create opportunities for growth and value creation in our FlexGen portfolio that are aligned to the UK’s energy needs, and are underpinned by strong cash generation, disciplined capital allocation and attractive returns for shareholders.”

Drax is developing a gigawatt-scale pipeline of BESS, combining physical asset ownership with optimising third-party assets through various market structures.

In October 2025, Drax acquired three BESS projects totalling 260MW from Apatura. In January 2026, it acquired Flexitricity’s optimisation platform to further develop its FlexGen business.