Toronto-headquartered global energy transition platform Amp Energy is going to build what will be known as the Scottish Green Battery Complex. They will be the two largest grid-connected battery storage facilities in Europe.
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Grid-connected battery storage in Scotland
The Scottish Green Battery Complex, which will be in Hunterston and Kincardine, will store and manage the dispatch of energy generated from wind farms in Scotland. They’ll provide reliable grid stability services and power management across central Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The portfolio, which got planning consent from the Scottish government on January 5, is expected to come online in April 2024 and will be comprised of two 400 MW battery facilities, each providing 800 MWh of energy storage capacity.
On January 17, Electrek reported that Crown Estate Scotland, which held Scotland’s largest-ever auction of offshore wind permits, chose 17 projects in its ScotWind Leasing round with a massive 25 GW of capacity.
So large-scale energy storage that can shift power and provide grid stability services is now even more critical.
The Scottish Green Battery Complex will enable up to 1,750 GWh per year of additional clean energy to be generated in Scotland and transported to other regions of the UK, equivalent to enabling approximately 500 MW of new offshore wind deployments.
The Hunterston and Kincardine projects will also take part in the National Grid’s Scottish Stability Pathfinder phase 2 tender, which seeks to address voltage and stability issues faced by the UK electricity grid. National Grid ESO writes:
As traditional coal and gas plants are phased out from Britain’s energy system, the transmission system short circuit levels are falling. Renewable generators like wind and solar connect to the grid in a different way, which doesn’t give us the same stabilizing properties. So we need to find new providers to help support the system.
The Scottish Green Battery Complex will deploy grid-forming inverter technology alongside two new synchronous condenser installations that adjust conditions on the grid.
Electrek’s Take
This is smart, because not only is clean energy needed, but battery storage and energy regulation are also needed. Renewables and battery storage need to arrive hand in hand.
Despite its history of oil and gas, Scotland has consistently been a clean energy trailblazer, and is working to reach net zero by 2045. Other countries ought to follow suit.
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
