Developer Intelligent Land Investments (ILI) Group has received planning consent for a 200MW battery energy storage system (BESS).
The BESS will be adjacent to the Easterhouse substation near Gartcosh, Glasgow, at Whitehill Farm. ILI Group received Section 36 planning consent, meaning that the BESS is classed as a change to the existing consent granted to the generating substation.
Consent from Ministers follows support for the project from both the Glasgow City Council and North Lanarkshire Council.
CEO of ILI Group, Mark Wilson, said: “This project will provide essential grid balancing services and help maximise the potential of our renewable energy resources.
“The recent decision by Scottish Ministers validates the crucial role that battery storage will play in our energy transition. As Scotland continues to increase its renewable energy capacity, projects like Whitehill BESS are essential for providing the flexibility and resilience necessary to maintain secure and reliable energy supplies.”
ILI Group has a portfolio of over 4.7GW energy storage projects, including 2.5GW of utility-scale battery storage and 2.5GW pumped storage hydro.
In July, the group submitted a Section 36 planning application for a 1.5GW pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project called Balliemeanoch, with a planned connection date in 2031. It will be located at Argyll and Bute supply 45GWh of power, making it one of the largest PHES projects in Europe.
Scottish storage developments
Scotland also houses PHES developments by energy major Drax, which is currently moving forward plans to build a 600MW Hollow Mountain power station inside Argyll’s highest mountain Ben Cruachan, alongside the company’s 440MW PHES station Cruachan. The two will share the existing upper reservoir as it has enough capacity for both at 2.4 billion gallons of water.
Several major BESS developments have also recently passed through planning approvals, with particular success seen by UK energy storage firm Apatura. The firm will build and operate a 100MW BESS near Dundee, which was approved by Ministers with no objections launched by the local authority Angus Council.
In September, Apatura’s proposed 700MW BESS for Inverclyde was also approved. It will be Scotland’s largest standalone BESS and is the largest Apatura has had approved across its 10GW pipeline.
OnPath Energy has thrown its hat into the ring with proposals for a 200MW BESS in Bathgate passing through West Lothian Council’s executive committee with no objections. Ministers at the Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit will now consider the proposals and decide whether to grant consent for the project, which aims to be operational by 2031.