Two UK gas‑fired peaking power projects owned by Ethical Power have entered administration, with joint administrators seeking to sell the assets through an accelerated process targeting completion by April 2026.

The 11 MW Fenton Lane and Huthwaite facilities were placed into administration on February 16 2026, with operations continuing on a short‑term basis to preserve value and maintain existing power contracts.

The administrators Kroll Advisory are marketing the businesses and assets, either individually or together, and have already approached seven potential buyers active in reserve power and flexible generation markets under non‑disclosure agreements.

The portfolio comprises 11 gas engines with combined capacity of 11 MW, supplying electricity to the grid during periods of high demand.

Fenton Lane is located near Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire, while Huthwaite is located near Alfreton in Derbyshire.

Prior to administration, revenues were generated through fixed‑price PPAs and capacity market contracts.

The latter terminated automatically on the appointment of administrators, leaving PPAs as the sole remaining revenue stream.

During the initial post‑appointment trading period to March 24 2026, the Huthwaite site generated a trading surplus of nearly GBP 6,000, while no post‑appointment income had yet been recorded at Fenton.

The administration followed winding‑up petitions issued by HM Revenue and Customs in January 2026 over unpaid VAT liabilities incurred elsewhere in the wider corporate group.

Ethical Power had begun marketing the assets for sale before the petitions were filed, but the legal action prevented a transaction from completing.

Senior lender Close Brothers moved to appoint administrators to suspend the winding‑up proceedings and allow trading to continue while a sale is pursued.

The administrators have ruled out a rescue of the companies as going concerns, citing insufficient funds, and are instead focused on securing a better outcome for creditors than immediate liquidation.

Sale proceeds will be applied first to secured creditors, with any residual value potentially contributing to the statutory prescribed part for unsecured creditors, although full repayment of secured debt is uncertain and will depend on sale valuations.

Total secured indebtedness across the two projects is estimated at GBP 4.7m, excluding accruing interest and costs.

Ehtical Power is 50% owned by Hive Energy, which itself recently entered administration after encountering difficult trading conditions.

The latter group had previously disposed of its shareholding to entrepreneur Greg Skinner but reacquired the stake in March 2025.

Ethical Power was approached for comment.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM Europe subscribers.

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