An artist's impression of the proposed Opdenergy BESS in Scotland.

Image: Opdenergy

The Highland Council, a local government body in northern Scotland that includes the famous Highlands region, is considering several new large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) in the region, which could add as much as 450 MW of storage capacity.

The Highlands are dominated by wind farms and hydroelectric schemes, with proposed BESS projects set to add to additional sustainable infrastructure to the region.

Three main projects from developers are under consideration, with the authority submitting notifications of its plans to its North Planning Applications Committee:

Near Mey, Caithness: A facility with up to 200MW capacity, located on open, flat land, and developed by Field Rigifa Limited, a subsidiary of Field, a London-based developer.

Near Garve, Wester Ross: Another facility with up to 200MW capacity, to be located at an existing substation, and developed by Field Corriemollie Ltd, a subsidiary of Field.

Near Forss, Thurso: A smaller facility with 49.9MW capacity, chosen for its proximity to the Forss Business & Energy Park, and developed by Forss Energy Storage Limited.

No details specifying the energy capacity in MWh were provided.

These projects will serve as part of the council’s broader initiative, announced last year, to explore generating and storing its own power, and would assist in meeting climate change targets set by the Scottish and UK governments. The committee will meet on August 7th to consider the matters.

In recent weeks, renewable energy company Opdenergy also announced an initial proposal to build a 49.9MW BESS in the Highlands, with a planning application to the Highland Council estimated for the end of 2024.

Previously, two massive BESS projects in Scotland were given planning permission, including a 1 GW/2 GWh Rawhills Energy Storage facility in Coalburn, south of Glasgow, and a 500 MW/1,000 MWh Devilla Energy Storage site in Fife, north of Edinburgh.

50 MW threshold change proposed

In much of the UK, energy storage and energy generation projects under 50 MW can be approved by a standard local planning process, while projects above 50 MW are classified as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and require a more complex consent process. This has seen the clustering of generation and storage projects at 49. 9 MW, under the 50 MW limit.

In England over the past week, NSIP thresholds are currently under review with new proposed thresholds for solar set at 150MW to prevent market distortions. This may eventually lead to changes in Scotland, which has its separate thresholds.