How to finance batteries: Debt financing vs joint ventures with Conrad Purcell (Haynes Boone)

Dec 16, 2025

In this insightful discussion, Conrad Purcell, a seasoned partner at Haynes Boone with 20 years in renewable project finance, breaks down the complexities of financing battery storage projects. He explores why uncertainty is a major barrier to financing, the shifting lender expectations, and how grid delays affect timelines. Conrad contrasts debt financing with joint ventures, emphasizing the importance of revenue models and contract certainty. His predictions for market evolution and consolidation add an intriguing perspective for developers and investors alike.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Batteries Are Revenue-Stacked, Not Contracted

Batteries earn via a stacked set of short-term services rather than long-term fixed contracts.
That volatility makes lenders demand certainty before providing cheap debt.

ANECDOTE

Career Path Through Global Infrastructure

Conrad described starting as a project finance lawyer on desalination and UAE projects.
He then moved in-house to RES and worked across UK wind and Nordic projects.

ADVICE

Size Debt Against Future Revenues

Size project debt on contracted future revenues, not asset book value.
Ensure revenue projections are robust because lenders will underwrite to that stream.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Want the latest news, analysis, and price indices from power markets around the globe - delivered to your inbox, every week?

https://bit.ly/TheWeeklyDispatch

Battery storage is scaling fast, but taking a project from concept to energisation is harder than ever. In this episode, we dig into the real-world challenges that determine whether a project becomes bankable - or never reaches the start line.

From grid connection delays and tightening lender requirements to shifting revenue models and contract alignment, we unpack the risks developers must tackle long before construction begins.

In todays conversation, Ed is joined by Conrad Purcell, Infrastructure and Energy Projects Partner at Haynes Boone to explore why uncertainty is the biggest barrier to financing, how misaligned warranties or optimisation strategies can derail an otherwise strong project, and what lenders now expect from revenue models in a more merchant-heavy market. If you’re building, funding, or analysing energy storage, this episode offers a clear, practical view of the decisions and trade-offs needed to secure investment and deliver successful battery projects in today’s GB market.

They discuss:

• What makes a battery storage project bankable and how developers must reduce uncertainty to unlock debt finance.

• How grid connection delays and uncertainty now dominate project timelines.

• Why lender expectations around warranties, performance guarantees, and EPC structures matter.

• How shifting market dynamics affect choices - from ancillary services to merchant-heavy revenue stacks.

• The end-to-end development process to take a battery project from early development through to financial close.

If you would like to watch the video on project financing, you can do so through the link https://www.linkedin.com/posts/haynes-boone-london_project-finance-explained-how-to-fund-major-activity-7399792758359752704-FWqh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABYDkgwBdm6Zsq7Vlc0xyDtCNoeCj9e62tg

About our guest

Conrad Purcell is a seasoned project finance lawyer at Haynes Boone - with deep experience structuring and delivering complex energy infrastructure across the UK and internationally. Having worked on wind, solar, storage and broader clean energy portfolios, he brings a clear understanding of how lenders assess risk, what makes a project bankable, and the commercial, legal and technical alignment needed to reach financial close. His practical, detail-driven perspective offers invaluable insight for today’s fast-evolving battery storage market.

About Modo Energy

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

All episodes of Transmission are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To stay up to date with our analysis, research, data visualisations, live events, and conversations, follow us on LinkedIn. Explore The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series explaining how power markets work.