Amp Energy is to build what it is claiming are Europe’s two largest grid-connected battery storage facilities, each boasting capacities of 400MW / 800MWh.
Dubbed the Scottish Green Battery Complex, the facilities are to be locatedd in Hunterston and Kincardine in central Scotland.
The two are set to be operational in April 2024, having received planning consent from the Scottish government energy consents unit earlier in January.
Several other projects have laid claim to Europe’s biggest BESS in recent years, including most recently a 360MW Sembcorp Energy UK BESS, which is to be built in Teeside.
Meanwhile, in 2021 Zenobe Energy claimed its 100MW/107MWh Capenhurst BESS as Europe’s largest grid-connected battery, while the 100MW Minety site – which consists of two 50MW battery systems developed by Penso Power and funded by China Huaneng Group and CNIC Corporation – was also previously claimed to be Europe’s largest battery storage project.
It has since been announced that Minety is to be expanded by a further 50MW, having secured land rights, planning permission and a grid connection offer to extend the site in February 2020.
Amp Energy’s two 400MW BESS are to be optimised and dispatched by Amp X, Amp Energy’s AI-powered digital energy platform. They are also participating in National Grid’s Scottish Stability Pathfinder 2 tender, which is seeking to address voltage and stability challenges faced by the UK electricity grid.
The company said that the requirement for large-scale energy storage that can shift power and provide grid stability services is “even more critical” following the recent offering of option agreements to 25GW of new offshore wind projects in Scotland through ScotWind Leasing.
Indeed, Amp Energy suggested that its Scottish battery facilities will enable up to 1,750GWh per year of additional renewable energy to be generated in Scotland and transported to other regions of the UK.
“With these ground-breaking projects Amp is making a significant investment in vitally needed green infrastructure as the UK transitions to a fully decarbonised grid,” Ben Skinner, vice president, Global Markets at Amp said.
Earlier this month, the company closed a US$350 million (£259 million) credit facility, provided by a consortium of institutional investors including Brookfield Asset Management and Nomura Securities, to advance its global portfolio of renewables and battery energy storage assets.
The funding will initially go towards assets in the US, Australia and Japan which are at the constructions stage, although further markets will be added later. As it stands, Amp Energy operates in North America, Australia, Japan, Spain, Czech Republic and the UK.