Plutus PowerGen's Plymouth site brought into operation

Attune Energy is now operating at full output and the AIM-listed company said that is part of its strategy to become a “predominant player in the flexible energy generation market”.

It will also provide the company with immediate exposure to its revenue streams in short-term operating reserve, firm frequency response, triad, a scheme through which National Grid charges energy suppliers sums according to their use of the high voltage transmission network, and merchant power sales.

The Plymouth site, which has a capacity mechanism contract for 15 years starting in 2019 and is pre-qualified for next year, is one of nine sites, in partnership with Rockpool Investments, which has provided enterprise investment scheme funding.

Rockpool also pays management fees of £1.35m per year in return for management and overseeing the construction of the assets.

Executive chairman Charles Tatnall said: "This is a landmark event for PPG. Now that our first flexible energy facility is operational, we look forward to increasing our sales substantially as we tap into the multiple revenue streams available to us over the coming months.

“These opportunities exist because National Grid and the Big Six are in need of a consistent source of power which blends with the intermittent supply currently being delivered by renewables. By providing power at times of peak demand, our projects will mitigate the risk of brown or blackouts and as demonstrated by recent announcements that we now have planning permission in place for seven projects, our portfolio is progressing well."

Shares in Plutus PowerGen were up 6.67% to 1.60p at 1048 GMT.