UK Power Reserve (UKPR) has completed a deal to add a new gas fired generation facility to their fast increasing portfolio.

UK Power Reserve (UKPR) has completed a deal to add a new gas fired generation facility to their fast increasing portfolio. Based near Taunton in Somerset, Cantelo Nurseries is one of the largest growers of organic peppers in Europe, with an equally large demand for heat and power. The Cantelo Nurseries gas fired generation facility, totalling 10MW of electrical output, is used to provide carbon dioxide and heat when required in the greenhouse where the peppers are grown.

UKPR originally joined up with Cantelo Nurseries in 2013, when the organic pepper growers provided their spare capacity to UKPR. This was used for aggregation within UKPR's flexible generation portfolio to provide active power into National Grid's Balancing Services as required. In return, Cantelo Nurseries benefitted from a valuable additional revenue stream with assets that would otherwise be idle.

Tim Emrich, CEO of UKPR said: "Our partnership with Cantelo Nurseries demonstrated the ways in which a non-energy business can play a role in the UK energy mix and contribute towards the UK's security of supply. The successful nature of this venture was the reason why we wanted to add this facility to our portfolio on a permanent basis. Cantelo Nurseries will continue to receive energy support from the facility, so this is an extremely positive outcome for all involved"