Scottish ministers have approved a 456MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to be developed by a Gresham House subsidiary.
According to the Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit, the application was determined yesterday (17 March) for the Gretna Green BESS. Gresham House Devco Pipeline Ltd submitted proposals for the site in April 2024.
Planning documents show that the Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Planning Applications Committee raised no objections to the proposal.
The Gretna Green BESS will sit on land south of the Gretna 400kv substation and be developed by Gresham House New Energy, the clean energy division within asset management firm Gresham House, the largest owner of BESS assets in the UK.
The development will cover 13 hectares near the England-Scotland border and be split into two linked parts: a battery enclosure of 56MW and another of 400MW, each with a 132kV substation. It is split in this way to account for an existing watercourse running through the site.
Scottish Power will manage a 400kV substation in the northeast of the site, construction of which is also covered by the planning consent.
According to the decision letter published by the Energy Consents Unit, no objections were received from members of the public. Under the Scottish National Planning Framework, ministers had to consent to the project; unanimous support was given.
The Gretna Green BESS website provides a provisional date for operations to begin at the end of 2025.
