How Energy Storage Gets Built with Bex Sherwood (Field)

Sep 25, 2025

Bex Sherwood, Head of Development at Field and chair of Regen’s Planning Working Group, shares her expertise in grid-scale battery storage. She discusses the journey of battery projects from conception to operation and the vital role of connections reform and Clean Power 2030 in this process. Bex also highlights the evolution of Field from developer to operator, the importance of community engagement, and the need for more diversity in STEM fields. She emphasizes the challenges and opportunities facing the battery storage industry today.

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INSIGHT

Field's Fast Growth And Scaling

Field evolved from developer to developer-owner-operator-optimiser, expanding from one 20MW site to multiple operational and construction projects including Germany.
A £200m fundraise from a Dutch infrastructure fund enabled rapid scaling and professionalisation of the business.

INSIGHT

Start With Grid Need And Constructability

Battery development starts with grid analysis to find where capacity and stability are most needed on the network.
Developers prioritise constructability, favoring existing substations with spare bays to simplify connection.

INSIGHT

Batteries Are Getting Bigger And Longer

Battery projects have shifted from short-duration use to multi-hour assets, with 8+ hour batteries competing with pumped hydro.
Project sizes have grown from 50MW to 200–400MW as long-duration storage becomes viable.

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How do you take a battery project from an empty field to a grid-connected asset that actually supports the system? And with queue reforms, planning pressure, and shifting revenue stacks, what does it now take to move storage from idea to operation at speed *and* at scale?

Today we’re taking a look how sites are found, why connections and planning timelines make or break projects, and which policy changes (from connections reform to Clean Power 2030) matter most for accelerating flexible capacity on the system.

In this episode, Ed is joined joined by Bex Sherwood, Head of Development at Field, to unpack how a storage developer navigates origination, planning, construction and optimisation and where the biggest bottlenecks (and opportunities) now sit.

Key topics covered include:

How battery storage projects are developed. From day zero through to operations.
The impact of Clean Power 2030 and connections reform on storage growth.
The key challenges developers face in planning and permitting.
How Field has evolved since 2023, moving from developer to owner, operator, and optimiser.
Why diversity in the workforce matters for the future of batteries and STEM.

About our guest

Bex Sherwood is Head of Development at Field, a developer, owner, operator and optimiser of grid-scale battery storage; she also chairs Regen’s Planning Working Group, focusing on practical reforms to speed well-sited, system-friendly projects. For more information about Field, head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our interviews are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, conversations, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.