Price Framework Paves Way For Vast Electricity Storage Scheme
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
SSE welcomes step forward in plans to build the £1.5bn Coire Glas hydroelectric project
These two paragraphs outline the article.
Ministers have provisionally agreed to a power pricing framework that could pave the way for more pumped storage hydroelectricity projects in Britain, including a gigantic £1.5 billion scheme from SSE that is starting to take shape in the Scottish Highlands.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it intended to develop a “cap and floor” pricing mechanism that would advance the Coire Glas storage project being developed by SSE, the energy company, and could unlock further pumped storage power stations.
Coire Glas will be one of the largest renewable power projects ever built in the UK.
- It will have a power output of 1.5 GW, which is comparable with some of the large wind farms in the North Sea or four gas-fired power station or Rolls-Royce SMRs.
- It will be able to store 30 GWh of electricity and provide 1.5 GW for twenty hours.
- Coire Glas has a web site.
- Coire Glas will more than double pumped storage hydroelectric capacity in the UK.
Bath County Pumped Storage Station in Virginia, US claims to be the world’s largest battery, but Coire Glas will be able to store more electricity.
You wait decades for one of these monsters to come along in the UK and SSE also have another on the way.
- Loch Sloy hydroelectric power station is the largest conventional hydroelectric power station in the UK.
- It has an output of 152 MW.
- It opened in 1950 and was largely built by German and Italian prisoners-of-war.
SSE plan to convert Loch Sloy power station into a pumped storage hydroelectric power station.
- It will be able to store 25 GWh of electricity.
- Loch Sloy will be the upper lake.
- Loch Lomond will be the lower lake.
- The existing dam, upper lake, pipes and powerhouse will be retained.
- The developments have a web page.
The project is aimed at a commissioning date of 2028.
This paragraph explains how the ‘cap and floor’ mechanism works.
In the scheme, operators would be guaranteed a minimum level of revenue, while consumers would be protected by a price ceiling, above which surplus revenue would be returned to them.
And these two paragraphs give SSE’s reaction.
Finlay McCutcheon, 46, director of onshore Europe at SSE, said the pricing framework was welcome news. He said that a deal for Coire Glas was needed by the end of this year to secure a firm investment decision by early 2026. Planning for the project started in 2007.
“Given the time taken to reach this point, much work is now needed to ensure an effective mechanism is finalised and put in place as early as possible to enable Coire Glas to take final investment decisions and move into construction,” he said.
I believe that the negotiations between the Government and SSE will lead to a monster on Loch Lochy and another one on Loch Lomond.
Conclusion
There are also these pumped storage hydroelectric schemes under development.
- Balliemeanoch Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/45 GWh
- Balmacaan Pumped Hydro – 600 MW/15-20 GWh
- Corrievarkie Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/14.5 GWh
- Fearna Pumped Hydro – 1.8 GW/37 GWh
- Glenmuckloch Pumped Hydro – 400 MW/1.6 GWh
- Loch Earba Pumped Storage Hydro – 900MW/33 GWh
- Loch Kemp Pumped Storage Hydro – 300MW/9 GWh
- Loch Na Cargeach/Red John Pumped Storage Hydro – 450 MW/2.8 GWh
These total up to 7.4 GW/100+ GWh.
This page on the Strathclyde University web site, gives these GWh figures for the possible amounts of pumped-storage that can be added to existing schemes.
- Errochty – 16
- Glasgarnock – 23
- Luichart – 38
- Clunie – 40
- Fannich – 70
- Rannoch – 41
- Fasnakyle – 78
- Tummel – 38
- Ben Lawers – 12
- Nant – 48
- Invermoriston – 22
- Invergarry – 41
- Quoich – 27
- Sloy – 20
That is a total of 514 GWh.
Scotland will be the Saudi Arabia of energy storage.
The Anonymous Widower 
The government’s proposed ‘policy framework’ is at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/long-duration-electricity-storage-proposals-to-enable-investment and covers all LDES not just pumped storage. They’ve set a duration minimum of 6 hours, which rules out Li-ion and what most people currently understand by ‘battery’. They commissioned consultants to model different scenarios. From what I’ve seen, industry reaction has been positive.
Comment by Peter Robins | January 11, 2024 |
btw, there’s a map of all pumped hydro schemes at https://www.hydropower.org/hydropower-pumped-storage-tool – the ‘energy storage’ tab makes it clear that GB’s current capacity is dwarf by those of Norway and Switzerland.
Comment by Peter Robins | January 11, 2024 |
If we are serious about net zero then pumped storage is mission critical national infrastructure so just get on and build it
Comment by nickrl | January 12, 2024 |
I don’t think there’s any disagreement about whether LDES should be built, it’s more how best to make the financing attractive. They say there’s 3GW of pumped hydro in their database, and note 25 lists some schemes that could move forward if there’s financial support available.
They say there’ll be some further consultation later in the year, but they want to have a scheme in place by the end of the year. I doubt whether an incoming gov would want to change that.
I see they’re saying “there are at least 35 GW of lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
sites across the UK with either a planning application submitted, planning application accepted
or currently under construction.” 35GW is a lot!
Comment by Peter Robins | January 12, 2024 |
There’s some staggering numbers on Chinese pumped hydro at https://cleantechnica.com/2024/01/12/pumped-hydro-accelerating-into-grid-storage-future/ 19 GW completed, a further 89 GW under construction and another 276 GW planned. Puts Britain’s few GW in perspective.
Comment by Peter Robins | January 13, 2024 |
I’d be interested to see how much more land that is suitable for pumped storage hydro, that China has got!
They have 39.4 times our land area.
Comment by AnonW | January 13, 2024 |
There’s a map of where the ph projects are at https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=57360 Seems to roughly correspond to where the population is. In GB, I would guess there’s few suitable sites in England, as there’s not much in the way of hills in most of England, and that’s where most of the population lives. A big advantage China has in developing large-scale infrastructure like this (high-speed rail is another example) is that disagreement with the government isn’t allowed. In Britain, whatever you propose, someone somewhere is sure to object.
Comment by Peter Robins | January 14, 2024
If China is such a wonderful country, where they don’t have have protests, why do so many seem to want to emigrate to places like the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States?
Comment by AnonW | January 14, 2024 |
I just came across a scheme which if I’m not mistaken you’ve overlooked, which relates to Hydropower, solar and wind energy
Fortune Hydro AG and Voith are acquiring the Welsh 450 MW Dorothea Lakes Pump Storage with the aim of developing it further.
https://www.world-energy.org/article/34673.html
BTW Voith have taken a controlling interest in the Scottish company Green Highland Renewables to enhance their involvement in maintenance and development of new hydro generation opportunities.
Comment by fammorris | January 14, 2024 |
A new one on me too. From what I can gather, this article isn’t correct: there is no “pump storage project” there. One was proposed in 2017, but afaics nothing came of it, and the site is still just a flooded quarry. Perhaps the government’s proposed cap and floor will stimulate some action on this front. There are probably quite a few possible sites in Scotland and Wales, but pumped hydro is expensive to build with long build times. A nearby substation is also helpful.
Comment by Peter Robins | January 14, 2024 |
[…] looks to me that this was a good buy in July 2023, as after last week, when I wrote Price Framework Paves Way For Vast Electricity Storage Scheme, in response to a UK Government announcement about funding pumped storage […]
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