British developer Starlight secures approval for a 240 MW mega‑storage project. Poland is on the company’s priority list.

Starlight Energy, the development arm of the London‑based investment group NextEnergy, has received official approval to build a gigantic energy storage facility with a power rating of 240 MW and a capacity of 960 MWh in England. Importantly for the domestic market, the company is actively seeking opportunities for geographic and technological expansion, identifying Poland as one of its key target markets for hybrid projects.

Four‑hour mega‑storage in Durham

The announced project in Thorpe Thewles (near Stockton‑on‑Tees in County Durham) is so far the largest BESS investment undertaken by Starlight in the United Kingdom. The installation will feature a long, four‑hour autonomy period (240 MW / 960 MWh), which fits perfectly into modern trends in grid stabilization and system flexibility development.

“As energy markets evolve and renewable generation continues to grow, energy storage will play an increasingly important role in ensuring grid stability and supporting the energy transition,” Starlight representatives emphasize in the official statement.

A global 7 GW portfolio and plans to enter Poland

Starlight Energy focuses primarily on developing large‑scale photovoltaic projects and agrivoltaics. As of April 2026, the company’s global project portfolio amounted to an impressive 7 GW.

However, the company does not intend to limit itself to its current markets and aims to diversify both geographically and technologically. On its website, Starlight explicitly states that it is currently analyzing entry options in the United States, Chile, Germany, France, the Iberian Peninsula, and Poland.

The developer’s strategy involves not only building standalone installations but above all creating fully hybrid systems that combine, within a single grid‑connection node, energy from solar, wind, battery storage, and potentially also green hydrogen production facilities. The arrival of such an experienced player on the Vistula could significantly accelerate the professionalization of the Polish energy‑storage sector.