EPC contract signed & possible capacity increase

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 17 November 2020

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc

(the "Company" or "Gore Street")

Turnkey construction contract signed for 30MW Irish Project

Application submitted to increase the Republic of Ireland portfolio capacity to up to 180MW

Gore Street, London's first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power, has executed  a fixed-price[1], turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") contract and a long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract, with Fluence, for the Company's 30MW Porterstown project in the Republic of Ireland (the "Project" or "Porterstown"). In addition, the Company has applied to increase the total capacity of the Company's two assets in its Republic of Ireland portfolio from the original 60MW to up to a total capacity of 180MW.

Fluence is a leading global energy storage technology and services provider. Formed in 2018 by AES Corporation and Siemens AG, the company currently has a portfolio of 2,400 MW in storage projects deployed or awarded in 24 countries worldwide.

Details of the EPC

Under the EPC and O&M contracts, Fluence has committed to construct the project at a fixed price¹ by a specified completion date, to provide for performance (including back to back stringent DS3 services warranties), energy degradation and availability warranties and to operate the projects for up to 15 years. The combination of a fixed price¹, stringent warranties backed by liquidated damages and a guaranteed[2] completion date further de-risks the Project. As a result of this strong progress towards completion, the Investment Manager believes there is an opportunity to potentially increase the valuation of the Project.

In-line with previous guidance, the Project is on track to be commissioned in Q3 2021 as expected.

As outlined in our acquisition and update announcements in June 2019, the Porterstown 30MW project will benefit from the new "Delivering a Secure Sustainable Electricity System" (DS3) program and will generate revenue from the program for a full 6-year fixed contract period. This project, alongside the other three assets owned by the Company in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, all benefit from competitive and valuable agreed DS3 revenue contracts.

Possible Grid Connection and Site Duration Extensions

In addition, Gore Street is pleased to announce that it has applied for an extension to expand the grid connection of Porterstown, which could see the capacity of the Project increase substantially.

The Company is also pleased to disclose that the 30MW Kilmannock project, has also applied for an extension to expand its grid connection. Connection works at Kilmannock continue to progress, but construction will most likely commence at a later date due to Eirgrid's updated timeline on grid connectivity. Together, this potential extension would increase the portfolio in ROI from 60MW to up to 180MW.

Gore Street believes both Projects and its expected financial return will benefit from the capacity extension.

Alex O'Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital, the Company's investment manager, commented:

"Gore Street is delighted to deliver this encouraging news and looks forward to working with Fluence on the Porterstown project. Securing this EPC contract is another major step forward for our portfolio of Irish assets, and directly supports the energy security ambitions on the island of Ireland, where energy storage could have a considerable role to play given the fantastic intermittent wind resources available. We are also delighted that this project will contribute towards Ireland's climate changes goals and creating a low carbon economy. The potential to further increase the MW capacity of both Porterstown and Kilmannock, is an exciting development for the Company, and points to the incredible focus on asset optimization by the Gore Street team.

We are pleased to have built one of the largest portfolios of its kind and we look forward to further updating shareholders on the progress of our Irish assets as these projects continue to develop."

The Legal Entity Identifier of the Company is 213800GPUNVGG81G4O21.

For further information:

Media enquiries

JTC (UK) Limited, Company Secretary Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 0181

Notes to Editors

About Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc

Gore Street is London's first listed energy storage fund and seeks to provide Shareholders with a significant opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of utility scale energy storage projects. In addition to growth through exploiting its considerable pipeline, the Company aims to deliver consistent and robust dividend yield as income distributions to its Shareholders. 

The Company targets an annual dividend of 7.0% of NAV per Ordinary Share in each financial year, subject to a minimum target of 7.0 pence per Ordinary Share. Dividends are paid quarterly.

https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com

Porterstown Project

Gore Street acquired a 51% interest in Porterstown from Low Carbon in 2019. GSF is funding all required capex via shareholder loan and carrying a 10/8% interest rate. Once the shareholder loan if fully paid, GSF will split the excess profit the 49% with the developer. Low Carbon.

The project is located in Porterstown, County Kildare and has a total installed capacity of 30.0 MW. Porterstown secured a 30MW DS3 Fixed-tariff Contracts through a competitive auction held in 2019. The contract is a six-year contract commencing in Q3 2021.

The Project anticipate revenues from the "DS3" or "Delivery Secure Sustainable Electricity System" Programme as well as the Irish Capacity Remuneration Mechanism and wholesale revenues (the latter, after the end of DS3 services).

About Fluence

Fluence, a Siemens and AES company, is the global market leader in energy storage technology solutions and services, combining the agility of a technology company with the expertise, vision and financial backing of two well-established and respected industry giants. Building on the pioneering work of AES Energy Storage and Siemens energy storage, Fluence's goal is to create a more sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world. Providing design, delivery and integration, Fluence offers proven energy storage technology solutions that address the diverse needs and challenges of customers in a rapidly transforming energy landscape. The company currently has 2.4 gigawatts of projects in operation or awarded across 24 countries and territories worldwide. Fluence topped the Navigant Research utility-scale energy storage leaderboard in 2018 and was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2019.

To learn more about Fluence, please visit: fluenceenergy.com.