The 200MW/400MWh, 2-hour duration Harker project was granted “full planning permission for the construction and installation” for the system and “boundary dancing, access track, landscaping and other associated infrastructure” by local authority Cumberland Council yesterday (18 July), having been granted partial approvals last month.
The project, a joint development between Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy and Northeast England-headquartered developer Windel Energy, will now be able to begin construction, although this is not expected to be until Q4 2029 unless an accelerated grid connection date is agreed. Located between the villages of Todhills and West Linton near Carlisle, the project will connect to the Harker National Grid substation via an underground 400KV cable.
Under the approvals, the developers have agreed to several conditions, including the use of specific paving materials, limiting construction to between 7:30am and 6pm on weekdays, the use of lighting design that does not disturb local bat populations, and strict noise mitigation measures.
In May, Recurrent Energy successfully landed a €1.3 billion (£1.1 billion) multi-currency revolving credit facility from ten major banks, to finance projects in the UK and across the EU.
By Kit Million Ross.
Ethical Power and Varco Energy build on development partnership
Ethical Power has partnered with Varco Energy to deliver an almost 50MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Cornwall, South West England.
Varco Energy’s 47.5MW Sambar Power BESS project, located near Newquay, Cornwall, is expected to come online by Q2 2025. Energy storage asset owner and operator Ethical Power will provide Balance of Plant (BoP) work to install BESS equipment on the site, which Varco Energy announced last week will be provided by GE Vernova. GE Vernova will provide its FLEXIQ Controls, FLEXINVERTER central inverters and Battery DC-Blocks products for the development.
Ethical Power will also undertake the electrical, mechanical and civil infrastructure required for connection to the National Grid transmission network.
This is not the first time that Ethical Power and Varco have partnered for UK BESS projects, having previously collaborated on the Native River project near Liverpool and the Sizing John Project south of St Helens, each of which has a 57MW capacity.
By Kit Million Ross.
RES Group submits proposal for 49.9MW Scotland BESS
RES has submitted planning permission for the Corshellach energy storage proposal to Moray Council in Scotland.
If approved, the proposed 49.9MW BESS project will be situated on land adjacent to Berryburn substation near Dunphail. RES noted that this places it near existing transmission infrastructure, which minimises the need for additional construction. The proposal is expected to go before Moray Council’s Planning Committee in the next few months; if approved, it will take around a year to construct.
Environmental concerns sit at the heart of this planning application, with RES expressing how the Corshellach Energy Storage System had been designed to fit sensitively into the landscape, following multiple surveys and assessments surrounding environment, landscape, heritage and the welfare of local residents.
Milo Amsbury-Savage, development project manager for RES, remarked upon how the community consultation process impacted the final proposal, commenting: “We’ve taken time throughout the project’s development to listen to people’s feedback in order to improve the project; for example, using the same delivery route as Berryburn Wind Farm construction to avoid the narrow Divie Viaduct. Everyone who took the time to provide feedback following our community consultation exhibitions was either supportive or neutral towards the project, with many approving of the choice of location.”
By Kit Million Ross.
Planning application submitted for 1.5GW pumped hydro project
Scottish energy storage developer ILI Group revealed on 11 July that it has lodged a Section 36 planning application with the Scottish government for a 1.5GW pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project.
Dubbed Balliemeanoch, the project aims to provide a flexible and renewable energy resource and bolster the grid’s stability, particularly as Britain increases the amount of variable energy entering the system. It will be located at Argyll and Bute and will be able to supply 45GWh of power, making it one of the largest PHES projects in Europe.
With a planned connection date of 2031, Balliemeanoch PSH is well-positioned to contribute to the UK’s long-term energy strategy.
Plans for the project first appeared in February 2022, with Solar Power Portal having previously reported that it could provide 1.5GW of power for up to 30 hours.
The Balliemeanoch project will create a new ‘head pond’ in the hills above Loch Awe. When full, it will hold 58 million cubic meters of water.
ILI Group has engaged AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, as technical consultants for the Balliemeanoch PHES project. AECOM’s expertise in large-scale infrastructure projects has been “instrumental in developing the detailed plans for this ambitious scheme”, ILI said.
ILI Group’s project is not the only recent development in the PHES space in recent weeks. On 9 July, Solar Power Portal reported that Drax had appointed global technology and engineering firm Voith Hydro to move its plans forward for its proposed 600MW underground project called Hollow Mountain.
By George Heynes.
The UK Battery Storage Project Database, produced by our in-house team at Solar Media Market Research, tracks over 1,350 project sites across all stages of development and onto fully operational assets including a full audit-trail of each site.