Let's Answer
Your Questions
We have compiled our most frequently asked questions or points which may need further clarity. If you have a question we haven’t covered please contact us.
About Forest Grove
What does Forest Grove do?
Forest Grove provides project management, PMO & Governance, design, planning, technical oversight, and commercial support for utility-scale battery energy storage (BESS) projects and all other renewables in the UK. We help clients de-risk development, manage grid interfaces, run procurement and contracting, and deliver projects through construction to commissioning and COD.
What types of clients do you work with?
We work with BESS developers, Solar developers, EVCP developers, asset owners, investors/funds, IPPs, and specialist delivery teams who need experienced owner-side support across development, delivery, or portfolio execution. We are also developing our own assets as owner operators so fully understand the difficulties involved in ensuring a successful delivery.
What stages of the project lifecycle do you support?
We support the full lifecycle early-stage feasibility and grid strategy, development and permitting interfaces, procurement and contracting, construction delivery, commissioning and handover, and (where required) post-COD oversight and performance support.
What makes Forest Grove different from a traditional owner’s engineer or PMO?
We combine practical site delivery experience with grid/commercial structuring and investor-grade reporting. That means we can translate technical and programme risks into clear actions, contract positions, and decisions that protect schedule, capex, and value. We use a specialised Project Management tool that we supply to our clients as part of our full packages on delivery of large-scale projects.
Services and Scope
What services do you offer for utility-scale BESS projects?
Yes. We can provide owner’s engineer-style oversight and technical review, including design review, compliance checks, delivery assurance, and structured reporting for investors and lenders (aligned to the project’s stage and requirements).
Can you act as Owner’s Engineer / Technical Advisor?
Yes. We build consistent portfolio controls (RAID, schedule governance, cost tracking, milestone management, reporting packs) so you can manage multiple sites with clear visibility and comparable metrics. We have a strategic partnership with one of the industry’s top Project & PMO SaaS tools.
Do you provide programme management across multi-site portfolios?
Yes. We build consistent portfolio controls (RAID, schedule governance, cost tracking, milestone management, reporting packs) so you can manage multiple sites with clear visibility and comparable metrics. We have a strategic partnership with one of the industry’s top Project & PMO SaaS tools.
Can you support both development and construction delivery?
Yes. Many project issues originate in development (grid, consents, land, contracting assumptions). We support development decisions with delivery in mind—and then carry that logic into construction controls and contractor management.
Do you support post-COD operations?
Where needed, yes. We can support warranty/LTSA oversight, performance reviews, issue triage, and governance between owners, operators, OEMs, and other counterparties.
Grid and Connections
Can you manage the DNO connection process end-to-end?
Yes. We can run or support tender processes, including scope definition, technical schedules, clarifications, bid evaluation, and recommendation ensuring comparability and reducing gaps that later drive change orders.
Which UK networks do you have experience with?
Yes. Where the project requires NGESO-facing processes or compliance (depending on voltage level and connection arrangement). We help ensure technical submissions, programme assumptions, and responsibilities are clear and tracked.
Do you support NGESO interface requirements?
Yes. Where the project requires NGESO-facing processes or compliance (depending on voltage level and connection arrangement). We help ensure technical submissions, programme assumptions, and responsibilities are clear and tracked.
Can you help with grid risk assessment and connection strategy?
Yes. We identify schedule-critical grid milestones, assess delivery and dependency risks, and set practical strategies for managing uncertainty so your programme and capex assumptions remain credible.
Do you support ICP/IDNO and contestable works interfaces?
Yes. We help structure roles and responsibilities across DNO/ICP/IDNO and contractors, and we track deliverables and approvals so contestable works don’t become hidden schedule risk.
Commercial, Contracts, and Procurement
Can you support EPC tendering and contractor selection?
Yes. We can run or support tender processes, including scope definition, technical schedules, clarifications, bid evaluation, and recommendation ensuring comparability and reducing gaps that later drive change orders.
Do you help structure EPC contracts (including split civils vs OEM, or EPCM)?
Yes. We support contract strategy and packaging, including traditional EPC, EPCM, and hybrid structures (e.g., civils-led delivery with owner-side integration). The goal is clear interfaces, bankable risk allocation, and workable delivery control.
Can you review and negotiate key delivery/commercial terms?
Yes. We focus on the terms that protect outcomes: liquidated damages, milestone definitions, acceptance testing, securities, change control, interface obligations, programme duties, and step-in/termination mechanics.
Do you build milestone-based payment schedules and cashflow logic?
Yes. We can structure milestone payment profiles tied to objective deliverables and acceptance criteria and align them to programme logic so you avoid paying ahead of progress.
Can you advise on securities (PCGs, bonds, LCs/guarantees)?
Yes. We help define the right security instruments and amounts for the risk profile, then ensure the triggers, reductions, and release mechanics match real delivery milestones and do not create unnecessary commercial friction.
Technical and Engineering
What battery technologies and system architectures do you work with?
We work across common utility-scale BESS configurations, typically integrating OEM packages with balance-of-plant, civils, and grid works. Our focus is on bankability, deliverability, and performance outcomes rather than a single preferred OEM.
Do you review designs for compliance with UK standards and grid requirements?
Yes. We review against applicable standards, DNO/NGESO requirements, and project-specific employer’s requirements focusing on practical compliance and approval readiness.
Can you manage technical due diligence for acquisitions?
Yes. We provide buy-side due diligence covering grid position, programme credibility, capex assumptions, contracting strategy, deliverability risks, and evidence quality so investment decisions are based on reality, not optimism.
Do you support commissioning and performance testing?
Yes. We support commissioning governance, test planning, readiness reviews, and performance testing oversight ensuring acceptance criteria are met and evidenced for handover and commercial close-out.
Do you support safety and compliance interfaces?
Yes. We support the owner-side integration of H&S and compliance workstreams and ensure responsibilities across parties are clear. (Specialist fire engineering and principal designer duties remain with the appointed competent parties.)
Delivery and Construction
What does “owner-side delivery oversight” include in practice?
It typically includes programme controls, contractor interface management, change control, quality governance, progress verification, issue resolution, and investor-grade reporting acting as the owner’s delivery function to keep the project moving and defensible. This approach saves owners on having to hire in all the staff for a project with a defined start and finish time.
How do you manage programme, risk, and change control?
We implement practical project controls: a live integrated programme, a RAID log, decision/action tracking, structured change control, and clear reporting cadence. The objective is early visibility, disciplined decisions, and fewer surprises.
Can you embed within our team or operate as an outsourced delivery function?
Either. We can embed into your team (acting as an extension of it) or operate as a standalone owner-side function with defined interfaces to your internal leads and external contractors.
What reporting do you provide?
Common deliverables include weekly dashboards, monthly investor packs, programme and milestone trackers, RAID registers, action logs, change registers, and contractor performance summaries tailored to the governance level you need.
Investment and Transactions
Can you support buy-side technical/commercial due diligence for BESS acquisitions?
Yes. We focus on what drives value and risk: grid status, realistic programme, capex and contracting assumptions, deliverability constraints, counterparty capability, and evidence quality.
What inputs do you provide to valuation models?
We provide structured assumptions and risk adjustments for capex, programme, milestone timing, grid dependencies, and delivery risks so your model reflects credible outcomes and sensitivities.
Do you support portfolio acquisitions with multiple sites and different DNOs?
Yes. We build a single portfolio view with site-level workplans and comparable reporting, while managing the differences in grid processes, programme risks, and contracting per site.
Practicalities
What information do you need to scope a project and provide a proposal?
Typically: site details, current development status, grid position, target COD, contracting strategy (if any), key stakeholders, and the support model you want (embedded vs outsourced). If you have key documents (grid offer, single line, programme, term sheets), we can scope quickly.
How do you charge?
We offer flexible structures: day rates for advisory/embedded support, fixed-fee packages for defined deliverables (e.g., due diligence), and retainers for ongoing portfolio support. We’ll recommend the model that best fits your governance and risk profile.
What is your typical mobilisation time?
Usually within days to a couple of weeks, depending on scope and document availability. For urgent due diligence or delivery interventions, we can prioritise rapid start.
Do you work across the UK?
Yes. We support projects across the UK, including Scotland, England and Wales, and can operate remotely with targeted site visits aligned to milestones and risk. We also cover a wider range throughout Europe and wider and have several partners we work with.
Can you work alongside our existing consultants, ICPs, and EPCs?
Yes. We’re used to operating in multi-party delivery environments and focus on clear roles, clean interfaces, and disciplined controls rather than duplicating others’ work.
How do you manage confidentiality and conflicts of interest?
We work under NDA as standard and agree clear conflict checks at the outset. Information governance and controlled distribution are built into our reporting and document handling.
Results and Proof
Can you share example deliverables?
Yes. Where appropriate, we can share redacted examples (or sample templates) such as PMO packs, trackers, tender documents, and risk registers to demonstrate approach and reporting quality.
What risks do you typically uncover on BESS projects?
Common themes include optimistic grid timelines, unclear interface responsibilities, wayleaves, weak milestone definitions, under-scoped balance-of-plant, missing compliance deliverables, and change control gaps. Our job is to surface these early and turn them into actions and contract clarity.
What outcomes can clients expect in the first 30–60 days?
Typically: a clear delivery plan, live controls (programme/RAID/change), prioritised risk actions, clarified responsibilities across parties, and improved reporting visibility.