Energy storage specialist Apatura has successfully secured planning permission for a new 100MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in North Ayrshire, Scotland.
The Kilwinning BESS will be located half a kilometre north-east of the town of Kilwinning on an eight-acre site, and marks the tenth BESS project that the company has gained planning consent for in the last 17 months. With this development, Apatura now has a consented BESS portfolio of over 1.6GW.
The planning application was granted with zero public objections lodged during the application process. The Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit praised the future development, stating that it will “support the resilience of the electricity network through the electricity it generates and the additional technical services it can provide to the electricity system operator”, adding that the project “will provide essential flexibility to the grid”. The developer has not yet stated when it expects construction to begin, or when the project will be connected to the grid.
Commenting on the news, Andrew Philpott, chief development officer at Apatura, said that BESS developments are “integral” for enabling Scotland and the UK to achieve their net zero targets, adding: “It’s encouraging to see projects like Kilwinning getting approval at such a rapid pace.”
Apatura’s Scottish portfolio strengthens
Much of Apatura’s BESS portfolio is located in Scotland, including several recently consented projects. Late last month, the Energy Consents Unit granted planning permission for a 50MW/100MWh Apatura BESS near East Kilbride, in the South Lanarkshire region of Scotland. Just weeks prior, Apatura celebrated the approval of a 40MW/80MWh BESS in Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, which is expected to create up to 25 full-time jobs during the construction period.
Apatura started this year off on a very strong note, with the planning approval of its 150MW Neilston BESS in Renfrewshire enabling the developer to cross the substantial milestone of having 1GW of consented or operational BESS capacity. The company also holds Scotland’s largest energy storage pipeline at over 10GW. Shortly after this, Apatura was awarded planning consent to develop the Denny BESS project, a 400MW BESS project located near Stirling, in central Scotland.
However, the firm’s most ambitious consented project is undoubtedly the Aunchetiber BESS, a 700MW development to be located in Inverclyde, which once completed will be Scotland’s largest standalone BESS.
