Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has been appointed as the principal contractor for the construction of what is set to become the UK’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS) at Thorpe Marsh, a former coal power station site in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
The project, being developed by Fidra Energy, will be capable of exporting more than two million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually—enough to power approximately 785,000 homes. The facility is expected to be operational by mid-2027.
Jones Bros will carry out extensive civil works on the site, including more than 500,000 cubic metres of cut-and-fill earthworks using existing pulverised fly ash, and the installation of nearly 4 kilometres of deep surface water drainage. The contractor said a team of up to 60 personnel—including apprentices and trainees—will be deployed on the project, which is scheduled to complete its construction phase by the end of 2025.
“Battery storage is vital to the UK’s energy transition, providing important stability for the integration of renewables into the grid,” said Dafydd Elis, senior contract manager at Jones Bros. “We look forward to working on what will be the country’s biggest, and one of the leading BESS developments in the whole of Europe.”
The Thorpe Marsh development is backed by equity investments from EIG and the UK’s National Wealth Fund, which will also help finance a second large-scale BESS at West Burton in Nottinghamshire. Together, the two projects are expected to deliver up to 11% of the additional energy storage capacity required under the government’s Clean Power 2030 strategy.
“Thorpe Marsh is one of the most exciting infrastructure projects in the world and a landmark transaction in the energy sector,” said Chris Elder, chief executive of Fidra. “The investment by EIG and the NWF is testament to the outstanding team at Fidra and everyone who has supported us on the project.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the project illustrates the government’s commitment to economic growth through infrastructure investment. “This investment is a perfect example of how we are pulling every lever at our disposal to grow the economy… building on our achievement of being the fastest growing nation in the G7 for the first half of this year,” she said.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband added: “It’s fantastic to see the National Wealth Fund breathing new life into a former coal site — turning it into a cutting-edge battery hub that will power thousands of British homes and businesses with clean energy from wind and solar.”
Jones Bros, established in the 1950s, operates one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs around 500 people, with nearly 40% of its workforce comprising former apprentices.
