SSE Renewables receives government consent for Coire Glas pumped storage scheme

Source: · HYDRO REVIEW · | October 20, 2020

Source: Hydro Review

SSE Renewables says the Scottish Government has granted consent for its proposed Coire Glas project, the UK’s largest newly planned hydro pumped storage scheme.

SSE Renewables says this decision marks another step toward helping Scotland and the UK deliver their net-zero ambitions. If commercially approved, Coire Glas could double the UK’s pumped storage volume capacity and provide the national grid with the low-carbon balancing flexibility needed to reduce energy costs to consumers while helping decarbonize the power system, according to a press release. The project’s future commercial development is subject to identifying the right market investment framework.

The Coire Glas project, located near Loch Lochy in Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands, would be the UK’s first new pumped storage scheme in over 30 years. Initially approved for a 600-MW scheme in December 2013, revised plans were submitted in April 2018 to the Scottish Government for an up-to-1500-MW scheme. The changes were designed to maximize the potential of the site and help the UK in its transition to a net zero energy system by 2050.

The newly-approved scheme would be capable of producing power for 24 hours non-stop and would have a pumped storage capacity of up to 30 GWh, SSE Renewables said.