HedgeCo.Net — Ares Infrastructure Equity has acquired a significant minority stake in Statera Energy’s roughly 1.9 gigawatt U.K. portfolio of battery storage and flexible generation assets, marking the strategy’s first European investment, according to an Ares announcement carried on EQS and covered by Renewables Now. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The portfolio includes the Carrington battery storage project, rated at about 680 megawatts, and the Thurrock flexible generation facility of about 750 megawatts, among other assets. Statera will continue to own, operate and manage the platform and retains a development pipeline of roughly 16 gigawatts across storage and flexible capacity, according to the company and trade coverage.
The partnership fits a familiar infrastructure equity thesis: back an experienced operator that already controls operating megawatts and a deep pipeline, rather than assembling a greenfield portfolio from scratch. U.K. storage and flexible generation have become core tools for balancing intermittent renewables, which has drawn private capital seeking contracted or merchant cash flows tied to grid services and peaking power.
For Ares, opening the Infrastructure Equity Europe book with a minority stake in an operating U.K. platform signals a preference for scaled assets with near-term cash generation and expansion optionality. Keeping Statera in the operating seat reduces the need for a full platform build-out while still giving Ares exposure to capacity additions as the 16 GW pipeline advances.
Allocators watching European energy transition deals will note the lack of disclosed pricing and the minority structure. Both leave room for further capital raises or a larger Ares position later, while underscoring that competition for large U.K. storage and flexibility portfolios remains intense among infrastructure funds.