Financial close has been reached with a group of lenders including ING, NORD/LB, Rabobank and Santander UK.
February 24, 2026
Independent power producer Cero Generation and developer Enso Energy have reached financial close on a 78MW solar-plus-storage project in Doncaster.
The Bumble Bee Project will be co-located with a 120MW battery energy storage system (BESS), and construction is expected to begin in the coming months. The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the solar-plus-storage project will be carried out by Greek developer Metlen, while Chinese manufacturers JA Solar and Sungrow will supply the solar panels and BESS containers, respectively.
Financial close has been reached with a group of lenders, including ING, NORD/LB, Rabobank and Santander UK.
This is the second project to be financed through the joint venture between the two companies, following the financial close of a 360MW solar-plus-storage portfolio last summer. Among the three solar PV and BESS projects that reached financial close last summer is the 115MW Bramley project in Hampshire, which is currently under construction.
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The partnership between the two companies—which created a joint venture back in 2020—aims to build 1GW of solar and energy storage projects across England and Wales.
“This project also shows why co-location is essential. By constructing solar and battery storage in parallel behind one grid connection, we deliver more capacity, faster and more efficiently, exactly what CP30 is intended to achieve,” said Bill Rees, managing director of Enso Energy.
Moreover, revenues for a portion of the battery have been secured through a 10-year tolling agreement with utility Engie. This represents Cero’s first tolling agreement signed, and, according to the company, the first on a co-located asset in the UK. Under the agreement, the utility will optimise 70MW/140MWh battery capacity.
Utility EDF will provide optimisation services for the remaining part of the battery and route-to-market services for the solar PV.
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