What’s happened?
On the 26th June, Ofgem published its minded-to decision for the first window of the Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) cap and floor scheme, provisionally selecting 16 projects with a total capacity of 7.6GW of storage. The scheme guarantees projects a minimum revenue “floor” but also a “cap” to return excess profits to consumers. Contracts run for 25 years, designed to unlock investment in assets that the market would be unlikely to deliver to the level required to reach the governments clean power targets.
16 were chosen from 77 eligible projects. The selected capacity sits at the very top of Ofgem’s 2.7 to 7.7GW range for this window. A consultation on the decisions runs until the 7th August, with final awards expected in the autumn.
Scotland and the Midlands lead
Seven of the 16 projects, and 43% of the awarded energy capacity, sit in North Scotland, where wind generation regularly exceeds what the grid can carry south. The Midlands follows with four projects across the East and West Midlands.
Statera and Field lead this round
Statera Energy secured three projects totalling 1.66GW: the 660MW Loch Kemp pumped storage hydro scheme near Loch Ness, alongside the East Claydon (500MW, 12-hour) and Sundon (500MW, 8-hour) batteries in the East of England. Notably, Loch Kemp, with a duration of over 22 hours, ranked first out of all 73 projects in Ofgem’s Economic Assessment, reflecting the Statera’s leadership in delivering flexible assets in the UK.
Field secured five lithium-ion battery projects totalling 1.6GW/26.8GWh, four of them in North Scotland. Ranked fifth to ninth in the assessment, and at 16 to 18 hours’ duration, these will be among the longest-duration batteries globally.
Between them, Field and Statera took half of the 16 projects and over 40% of the awarded capacity. The other headline winners are SSE’s 1.44GW Coire Glas and Gilkes Energy’s 1.8GW Earba schemes, which alongside Loch Kemp would be the first new pumped storage built in Britain since Dinorwig in 1984.
The pattern behind the results is clear from Ofgem’s methodology. Duration was rewarded, as longer-duration assets score more highly on security of supply and avoided wind curtailment. Location in constrained regions strengthened the economic case. Credible delivery by 2030 aligned projects with the Clean Power 2030 plan. And financial robustness mattered: projects needed expected revenues strong enough that consumers are unlikely to be left funding the floor.
Looking ahead
Final awards are expected in autumn 2026 and will come with delivery conditions and milestones attached, with support withdrawable if projects fail to progress. Ofgem has confirmed it will consult on the design of a second application window this year, with a decision expected by 2027, keeping the pipeline open for those who missed out.
For the winners, attention now turns from bidding to delivery: securing supply chains, finalising investment decisions and building the teams to construct and operate first-of-a-kind assets over 25-year contracts. At Mint Selection, we partner with developers and investors across the energy transition to build the teams that turn awarded capacity into operating assets. If you are gearing up to deliver an LDES project, or planning for Window 2, reach out at hello@mintselection.com.