Aukera Energy has been granted planning consent for a 45MW solar farm with 40MW of co-located battery storage (BESS).
The Loch Fergus scheme, jointly developed with Locogen, will be located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland, and is expected to be operational 2026. Aukera will build and operate the project, adding it to the firm’s solar portfolio of over 3GW.
According to community project documents, the site will host around 100,000 solar cells, mounted three meters off the ground to enable sheep grazing to continue on the site. The project will supply power directly into the nearby Ayr substation.
Richard Hillam, Aukera UK’s development director said: “This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in this project and a continuation of our successful partnership with Locogen”. Hillam added: “Scotland’s central and local governments are yet again demonstrating the country’s desire to rapidly decarbonise”.
Stuart Hamilton, head of development at Locogen commented: “We are delighted to have received planning approval for the Loch Fergus solar farm. Solar energy is one of the lowest cost and quickly deployable forms of renewable energy and this project will make a significant contribution to the Scottish Government’s net zero target by 2045”.
Scottish BESS on the rise
This is not Locogen’s first planning victory this year. In April, Renewco Power and Locogen announced that they had been granted full planning consent for another solar-plus-storage project in Scotland, this time located in Fife. The £50 million Glenniston Solar Farm will comprise of 39MW of solar capacity with 10MW of co-located BESS, and is set to begin construction in 2026.
Scotland has become something of a hub for BESS developments of late, with fellow developer Apatura gaining planning consent for a 100MW BESS near Dundee late last week. Apatura has also been awarded consent for a 700MW BESS near Inverclyde, which once completed will be Scotland’s largest standalone BESS. This marks the largest project Apatura has received approval for across its 10GW pipeline.
Meanwhile, Kona Energy had a huge win in September as the Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit granted permission for its 228MW/456MWh Smeaton BESS in East Lothian. Despite local opposition, XRE Gamma and Scala Renewables Group were able to secure planning consent for their 49.9MW development near Kintore.
Co-location has also proved popular, with ScottishPower Renewables recently receiving full planning permission for its Hollandmey Energy Project. This development, located just south of John o’ Groats, will combine ten wind turbines with a combined 50MW capacity, a 15MW solar development, and a 15MW BESS.
