Durham-based family firm the Banks Group has announced that its renewable energy division Banks Renewables is being acquired by Brookfield, owner of PD Ports and a leading global asset manager with $850bn of assets under management.
The Banks Group, founded in 1976, established its renewables business in 2006 and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading independent owner/operators of onshore wind.
It currently has 11 onshore wind farms across Yorkshire, the North East, the North West and Scotland, and earlier this year, it completed the construction of its 100th wind turbine as part of the development of the new Kype Extension Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire, which is due to become operational in the very near future.
Banks Group’s other businesses, including Banks Property, Banks Homes, Banks Mining, Banks Transport and Banks Plant Solutions, will continue to operate as normal.
Founder and Chairman of the Banks Group, Harry Banks OBE DL, says: “I believe that Brookfield’s established position in the renewables industry and the strong cultural fit that exists between both businesses will lead to this acquisition being to the benefit of all parties involved.
“The greater resources of Brookfield will enable the fuller development of opportunities which Banks Renewables are introducing. It will be good for Banks Renewables’ employees and their career prospects, and it will be good for Brookfield because they are acquiring a renewables business with a proven track record and a capability to take the business forward.
“This is also good news for other Banks Group businesses and their employees, who will continue to develop our existing businesses in land, property, mining and in developing our new regional housebuilding business, Banks Homes.”
Sebastian Perl, Vice President at Brookfield, adds: “The United Kingdom is a high-quality location for renewable energy development and we are delighted to have made a further commitment to this market.
“We have a track record of being long-term owners of renewable energy businesses around the world and we see great potential to continue the great work that Banks Renewables has already achieved.”
The changes mean a green energy Banks project in South Yorkshire which includes one of the largest battery storage systems in the world is also under new ownership.
The Banks Group launched plans last year to create a new flexible energy storage hub through the reclamation and restoration of part of the former Thorpe Marsh power station site near Doncaster.
After gathering feedback on the project plans from local people and businesses through a range of consultation activities, Banks submitted a planning application for the project to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council at the start of this year.
But as part of its evolving position in the renewable energy sector, it has sold the project to independent power producer West Burton Energy, which already operates the West Burton power station and battery energy storage system in Nottinghamshire.
West Burton Energy will now take the project on through the planning process, construction and into operations.
The Thorpe Marsh Green Energy battery storage project could store up to 2.9GWhrs of energy, enough to supply around 340,000 households with electricity for one day, and would be used to ensure reliable and stable electricity grid operation at times of peak demand, thus helping to improve the UK’s energy security over the long term.
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Richard Dunkley, at The Banks Group, comments: “We are proud to have identified and proposed a project that could deliver one of the world’s largest battery storage plants providing an invaluable use for part of the derelict former power station.
“Thorpe Marsh will utilise the site’s large scale grid capacity to facilitate the increased deployment of renewable energy technologies on the National Grid network, so that more of the energy that we all use in our homes, businesses, schools and hospitals can be generated via our own renewable means and less from unreliable overseas sources.
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