Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 October 2023. HEIT says that, while it has made huge leaps with its portfolio during the year, conditions in the energy storage market and wider economy have been challenging and the current short-term weakness in revenues will require prudent management. However, HEIT says that independent revenue forecasts still predict that it can generate attractive returns, whilst contributing to net zero and delivering positive social and environmental impacts.

2023 has seen five projects coming online, building on the success of the previous two years, including the Bumpers project. This is HEIT’s largest battery energy storage solution (BESS) project and the largest in Europe by MWh. Consequently, HEIT now owns two of the three largest operational BESS assets in Europe (by MWh), including the multi-award winning Pillswood site that was energised in November 2022. As at 31 October 2023, the company had five operational, one cold commissioned and two “under construction” 2-hour duration BESS projects, with a total capacity of 790.8 MWh / 395.4 MW.

HEIT lists the following key financial highlights from its results (as at 31 October 2023):

• 8 assets with total capacity of 790.8 MWh / 395.4 MW
• 70% of portfolio operational (by MW capacity)
• Net asset value of £262.12m (115.40p per share)
• Dividend declared and paid in relation to the Period: 8p per Ordinary Share
• Tonnes of CO2e emissions avoided: 15,415 (estimated)

Norman Crighton, chair of HEIT, says that the company’s focus has been on the delivery of the portfolio through construction and ramping up of operations. The board says it is pleased with the progress achieved, noting that Pillswood has been one of the best performing BESS sites in Great Britain during 2023 and the now energised 198 MWh/ 99MW Bumpers project is the joint-largest in Europe (by MWh), resulting in the portfolio moving from 0% to 70% operational within the 12 months since 31 October 2022.

It has been widely publicised that Great Britain’s BESS market has deteriorated – issues with new software to balance the grid being a key contributor. Crighton says that, despite this recent performance, independent market experts expect trading conditions to improve over the course of 2024, noting that HEIT’s longer-duration 2-hour batteries have continued to outperform shorter-duration BESS.