SSE And Gilkes Energy Announce Joint Plans To Progress Loch Fearna Pumped Storage Hydro Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from SSE Renewables.
These five paragraphs from the press release outline the scheme.
SSE has announced plans to progress a new pumped storage hydropower scheme at Loch Fearna in Scotland’s Great Glen, in a 50:50 development joint venture with a consortium led by Gilkes Energy.
The proposed co-development is located at the western end of Glengarry around 25km west of Invergarry and adjoins SSE Renewables’ existing Loch Quoich reservoir in the Great Glen hydro scheme.
SSE Renewables already operates the largest fleet of hydro-electric power and pumped storage hydro assets in Scotland. It is now progressing development plans for new pumped storage hydropower projects in the Highlands to complement its existing fleet and deliver the large-scale, long-duration electricity storage (LDES) needed as part of Britain’s future energy mix.
The Fearna Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) project envisages the development of tunnels and a new power station connecting SSE Renewables’ existing reservoir at Loch Quoich with an upper reservoir at Loch Fearna.
Under the terms of the joint venture being announced today, Gilkes Energy will lead the project’s development under a development services agreement with SSE Renewables.
I wrote about the Great Glen hydro scheme in Repurposing The Great Glen Hydro-Electric Scheme, where I included this map, from the SSE Renewables web site shows the layout of the dams and power stations.
The sizes of the power stations in the scheme are as follows.
- Ceannacroc – 20 MW
- Livishie – 15 MW
- Glenmoriston- 37 MW
- Quoich – 18 MW
- Invergarry – 20 MW
- Mucomir – 1.7 MW
This gives a total power of 112.7 MW.
This five paragraph from the press release details the size of the scheme.
It is envisaged the proposed development would be up to 1.8GW in generating capacity and capable of producing around 37GWh of stored energy capacity. The project has already secured a grid connection offer totalling 1,795MW.
The 1.8 GW/37 GWh Fearna pumped hydro scheme will dwarf the Great Glen hydro scheme.
it is now seventy years since some of these hydro-electric systems were built in Scotland.
As an engineer, I wouldn’t be surprised to a see a fair amount of updating in the Highlands to upgrade Scotland’s hydro-electricity.
ILI Group Progresses Plans For 1.5GW Pumped Storage Hydro Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Technology.
This is the sub-heading.
The company has submitted a Section 36 planning application to the Scottish government.
These three paragraphs give more details.
The Intelligent Land Investments (ILI) Group has submitted a Section 36 planning application to the Scottish government for its 1.5GW Balliemeanoch pumped storage hydro project in Argyll and Bute.
The initiative will boost the UK’s renewable energy capacity and supply electricity to 4.5 million homes.
With an anticipated connection date of 2031, the project is strategically aligned with the UK’s long-term energy strategy.
Note.
- It will have a storage capacity of 45 GWh.
- It will be by far, the largest pumped storage hydroelectric power station in the UK. The under development Coire Glas pumped storage system is 24 GWh.
When the UK or Europe needs more power after completion of Balliemeanoch and Coire Glas, the Highlands of Scotland will provide the power.
Gresham House Energy Storage Reaches 1 Gigawatt Of Capacity
The title of this post, announcing a major milestone for Gresham House Energy Storage Fund appears on several web pages.
Many grid batteries are designed to give full power for two hours, so applying that rule to the Gresham House Energy Storage fleet, will mean that the total fleet would be a 1 GW/2 GWh battery.
Consider.
- In Centrica Business Solutions And Highview Power, I showed how Highview Power’s batteries could be used, instead of lithium-ion batteries.
- Highview Power’s largest battery is 200 MW/2.5 GWh, which compares well with the largest lithium-ion batteries, in the UK fleet.
- The Ffestiniog Power Station is a 360 MW/1.44 GWh pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Wales. It is slightly smaller than Highview Power’s largest battery.
- Moss Landing Power Plant in California is proposing to have a 1,500 MW / 6,000 MWh lithium-ion battery.
- Other GWh-scale systems are under trial.
It would appear that battery systems are widening the sizes of where they can be employed.
This hopefully, will mean more competition and keener prices for battery systems.
Wood To Optimise Hydrogen Storage For Centrica’s Rough Field
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Wood plc.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Wood, a global leader in consulting and engineering, has been awarded a contract by Centrica Energy Storage (CES) for the redevelopment of the UK’s Rough field in readiness for future hydrogen storage.
The Rough reservoir, located in the Southern North Sea, has been used to store natural gas safely for over thirty years and has the potential to provide over half of the UK’s hydrogen storage requirements.
The front-end engineering design (FEED) contract, awarded to Wood, entails new pipelines, a new unmanned installation, as well as onshore injection facilities at the Easington Gas Terminal, is the first step in making the field hydrogen ready.
Offshore Magazine has this article about the deal, which is entitled Wood Assessing Hydrogen Storage Needs For North Sea Rough Reservoir.
This is a paragraph from the Offshore Magazine article.
Centrica aims to position the Rough Field as the world’s largest long-duration hydrogen storage facility, although FID on the redevelopment project would depend on government support.
It would be a very important project.
Why would Centrica be planning for this massive increase in hydrogen storage?
There could only be one reason.
There is going to be a massive increase in hydrogen production and use.
In Where’s The Plan, Rishi?, I laid out what I believe will happen in the next few years.
- In RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030, I detailed how RWE intended to add an extra 10 GW of offshore wind to the seas around the UK.
- As our current offshore wind capacity is around 15 GW, so another 10 GW would surely be very welcome.
- The Germans will develop H2ercules, which is their massive project to create a hydrogen network to bring hydrogen to Southern Germany.
- A hydrogen hub at Wilhelmshaven is being built by Uniper to feed H2ercules with green hydrogen from around the world.
But would it not be better, if instead of feeding H2ercules with hydrogen from around the world, some came from the UK, a few hundred miles across the North Sea?
- RWE are developing the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm, which is not in the best place for a cable to the UK. So could this wind farm have an offshore electrolyser and send the hydrogen to Wilhelmshaven, by pipeline or coastal tanker?
- RWE are also developing the 4.2 GW Norfolk cluster of wind farms to the North-East of Great Yarmouth. It might be better, if the output of these wind farms took a hydrogen route to Wilhelmshaven.
- I also believe that a third offshore electrolyser might be situated North of the Wash to bring more hydrogen to Germany.
- Hydrogen could also be sent from the Rough facility to Wilhelmshaven.
The coastal tanker route gives flexibility, so green hydrogen could be sent as required to the UK mainland.
Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech – June 11
I also reported on Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech, which he made on June 11th. This is an extract
This document on the Policy Mogul web site is entitled Rishi Sunak – Conservative Party Manifesto Speech – Jun 11.
These are three paragraphs from the speech.
We don’t just need military and border security. As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too. It is only by having reliable, home-grown sources of energy that we can deny dictators the ability to send our bills soaring. So, in our approach to energy policy we will put security and your family finances ahead of unaffordable eco zealotry.
Unlike Labour we don’t believe that we will achieve that energy security via a state-controlled energy company that doesn’t in fact produce any energy. That will only increase costs, and as Penny said on Friday there’s only one thing that GB in Starmer and Miliband’s GB Energy stands for, and that’s giant bills.
Our clear plan is to achieve energy security through new gas-powered stations, trebling our offshore wind capacity and by having new fleets of small modular reactors. These will make the UK a net exporter of electricity, giving us greater energy independence and security from the aggressive actions of dictators . Now let me just reiterate that, with our plan, we will produce enough electricity to both meet our domestic needs and export to our neighbours. Look at that. A clear, Conservative plan not only generating security, but also prosperity for our country.
It is now nineteen days since Rishi made that speech and I can’t remember any reports about an energy security policy, which he outlined in the last paragraph of my extract from his speech.
He particularly mentioned.
- New gas-powered stations
- Trebling our offshore wind capacity
- Having new fleets of small modular reactors.
He also said we would have sufficient electricity to export to our neighbours. As I said earlier some of this energy will be in the form of hydrogen, which has been created by offshore electrolysers.
If we are exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe, this is likely to have three effects.
- An improvement in Europe’s energy security.
- H2ercules will improve and decarbonise German industry, using UK hydrogen.
- The finances of UK plc will improve.
It looks like there will be winners all round.
Conclusion
Centrica’s plan for a massive hydrogen store at Rough, close to SSE’s existing gas storage in the salt caverns at Aldbrough, would appear to make sense, if the UK’s excess of offshore wind is converted into green hydrogen, which is then stored and distributed as needed.
Centrica Business Solutions And Highview Power
Centrica Business Solutions is one of Centrica’s business units.
It has its own web page, with this sub heading.
Helping Organisations Balance Planet And Profit
This is followed by this mission statement.
Centrica Business Solutions helps organisations to balance the demands of planet and profit, by delivering integrated energy solutions that help you save money and become a sustainable business.
Several pictures show some of the solutions, that Centrica Business Solutions can provide.
Centrica Business Solutions In Numbers
These numbers are given about the customers of Centrica Business Solutions.
- Customer Sites Globally – 7000
- Solar PV Installations Delivered Worldwide – 16,380+
- Solar PV Installations Delivered Power – 240 MW
- CHP Units Operated And Maintained Globally – 700 MW+
- Energy Data Points Collected Each Month Globally – 29 billion
Theses are large numbers.
How Would Centrica Business Solutions Use Highview Power’s Batteries?
The obvious use of Highview Power’s batteries is to connect them between a solar or wind farm and the grid, for when the sun isn’t shining or when the wind isn’t blowing.
Currently, there are three sizes of Highview Power batteries, either working on under development.
5MW/15 MWh
This is the demonstration system, which is described on this page of the Highview web site.
Surely, if a system of this size is very useful for Viridor, there may be other applications and customers out there.
This system will provide 5 MW for three hours.
50MW/300MWh
This is the Carrington system, which is described on this page of the Highview web site.
The Highview web site says this about output potential and connectivity.
The facility will store enough clean, renewable energy to serve the needs of 480,000 homes, as well as providing essential grid stabilisation services. The site will use existing substation and transmission infrastructure.
This system will provide 50 MW for six hours.
200MW/2.5GWh
This is the larger system for Scotland and the North East, which is under development and described on this page of the Highview web site.
The Highview web site says this about output their use.
These will be located on the national transmission network where the wind is being generated and therefore will enable these regions to unleash their untapped renewable energy potential and store excess wind power at scale.
This system will provide 200 MW for 12.5 hours.
In Rio Tinto Punts On British Start-Up To Plug Renewables Gap, I said this.
In Britain, Highview hopes to be putting four 2.5-gigawatt assets into planning this year – one in Scotland, three with Orsted in England.
This sentence was originally published in this article on the Australian Financial Review.
I believe that Centrica could find applications for all three sizes of Highview’s batteries.
Suppose, though Centrica find that an application needs say a 100 MW/1 GWh battery.
From the mathematics, I did at ICI in the 1970s, when looking at the scaling of chemical plants, I believe that Highview’s battery design could be scalable, by just using appropriately-sized turbomachinery, matched to the right number of tanks.
So the customer would get the battery size they needed!
How Much Electricity Could One Of Highview’s Batteries Store?
This image shows large LNG tanks at Milford Haven.
In Could A Highview Power CRYOBattery Use A LNG Tank For Liquid Air Storage?, I did a rough calculation and found that the largest LNG tanks could hold enough liquid air, that would be the equivalent of around one GWh.
So the image above could be a 5 GWh battery.
This image clipped from Highview’s web site, shows large tanks for liquified gas storage.
With tanks like these, Highview could be building batteries with storage to rival the smaller pumped storage hydroelectric power stations.
In Grid Powers Up With One Of Europe’s Biggest Battery Storage Sites, I talked about how Ørsted were planning the Swardeston BESS, where the 2852 MW Hornsea Three wind farm connects to the grid.
The chosen battery will be from Tessla with an output of 300 MW and a capacity of 600 MWh.
I suspect Ørsted couldn’t wait for Highview, but circumstances might have changed now, with the financing deal for the Carrington battery!
Are Combined Heat And Power Units And Highview’s Batteries Interchangeable And Complementary Technologies?
According to the Centrica Business Systems web site, they have deployed over 700 MW of CHP systems globally.
I wonder how many of these systems could have used a standard Highview battery?
Perhaps, Centrica Business Systems have done a survey and found that it could be quite a few.
So, perhaps if Centrica Business Systems had access to Highview’s technology, it would increase their sales.
In addition how many of Centrica Business Systems existing CHP systems, would be improved with the addition of a Highview battery?
It appears to me, that if Centrica Business Systems were to develop a series of standard solutions based on Highview’s technology, they could substantially increase their sales.
What Could Centrica Business Systems Do For Highview Power?
Centrica Business Systems could probably develop several standard applications with Hoghview’s technology, which would be to the benefit of both companies.
But, I believe that as Centrica Business Systems are supporting large number of systems globally, that they are in a good place to help develop and possibly run Highview Power’s support network.
Conclusion
I can see Centrica Business Systems and Highview Power having a long and profitable relationship.
The Chemical Engineer Magazine On Highview Power
This is said in the Wikipedia entry for The Chemical Engineer Magazine.
The Chemical Engineer is a monthly chemical engineering technical and news magazine published by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
I first read the magazine perhaps fifty years ago, when it explained a chemical process, I was working on at ICI.
It is one of several well-respected magazines published by UK scientific, medical and engineering institutions.
This article in the magazine is entitled Energy Stored As Liquefied Air: £300m Investment Triggers Construction Of UK’s First Commercial-Scale Plant.
These three paragraphs introduce the investment.
HIGHVIEW POWER has received £300m (US$379m) in funding to build the UK’s first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage plant (LAES), designed to balance peaks and troughs in power demand as more renewable energy sources are brought online.
Construction of the facility is now underway in Carrington near Manchester. It is scheduled to begin operations in early 2026 and the company predicts it will provide more than 700 jobs in construction and the supply chain.
The plant will have a storage capacity of 300 MWh and an output of 50 MW per hour for six hours.
The rest of the article is just two sections.
- How Will Highview’s New Plant Work?
- Why Is The Technology Needed?
This article in the magazine is an absolute must read.
Centrica Invests In Renewable Energy Storage Capabilities To Boost UK’s Energy Security And Accelerate Transition To Net Zero
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
These two paragraphs are effectively headings.
Centrica plc announces a strategic partnership and £70 million investment in Highview Power and its first clean energy storage project in Carrington, Manchester.
Centrica’s investment will be a key part of a £300 million funding package to develop the first commercial-scale Liquid Air Energy Storage plant in the UK, which will boost the UK’s energy security and accelerate the transition to net zero.
These four paragraphs give more details on the deal.
The investment, which forms part of our plans to invest between £600m – £800m a year until 2028, will be structured as £25m of convertible debt at Highview Enterprises Limited, being the Highview Power holding company and £45m of debt funding at the Carrington Liquid Air Energy Storage project, phased over the project construction. The investment delivers several benefits to Centrica:
Robust standalone returns aligned with Centrica’s capital allocation framework and returns thresholds
Aligned to our green-focused investment programme targeting assets which complement our existing capabilities, provide balance to the portfolio, and align to the needs of the energy transition
Includes rights to equity participation and energy optimisation from future projects in Highview’s £9 billion project pipeline.
At a first look, it appears to give Centrica robust returns and some security for their £70 million investment.
But it is the last paragraph that I like. Does it mean that Centrica can cherry-pick, the projects that it likes and fit its own objectives and expertise from Highview’s £9 billion project pipeline and take-up some equity?
Whatever it means, It looks like it will be good for Centrica.
Do the other partners have similar rights to equity?
Suppose Goldman Sachs have a long-term client in the Mid-West of the United States, who are an electricity generator, with perhaps half-a-dozen coal-fired power stations.
As the client needs to decarbonise and it is believed that Highview’s long duration batteries can replace small coal-fired power stations, it is likely that a Highview solution will at least be examined.
If the client goes down the Highview route, Goldman Sachs might like to continue their long-term relationship, by taking a share in the equity.
Rio Tinto Punts On British Start-Up To Plug Renewables Gap
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Australian Financial Review.
The article is a must-read and these are a few points.
- Highview is readying to take a big punt on the Australian market, with Rio Tinto and the Northern Territory government shaping up as potential customers.
- Highview is very committed to Australia. We think Australia can be as big as the UK for us, given their ambitions,
- Highview is working on concepts with Rio Tinto. And separate from Rio, we are well advanced in the Northern Territory with the government there to provide a solution to decarbonise the power grid.
- The process uses existing hardware from the gas industry, and the plant’s life should be at least 40 years – five times longer than a battery.
- Highview could replace fossil-fuel gas plants in situ, and could also be an alternative to the more complex and capital-intensive option of pumped hydro.
- Highview already had staff operating in Brisbane.
- Highview was negotiating the long-term contract with the government in Darwin, and had engaged Australian banks to start testing the market for a local fundraising.
- In Britain, Highview hopes to be putting four 2.5-gigawatt assets into planning this year – one in Scotland, three with Orsted in England.
As I said, the article is a must-read and it proves to me that Highview is on its way.
Are Goldman Sachs Stitching Together A Large Deal On Energy Storage?
In UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica & Partners Invest £300M in Highview Power Clean Energy Storage Programme To Boost UK’s Energy Security, I talked about a deal to invest £300 million into energy storage company; Highview Power.
These three paragraphs are from the Highview Power news item, on which I based my post.
Highview Power has secured the backing of the UK Infrastructure Bank and the energy industry leader Centrica with a £300 million investment for the first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant in the UK.
The £300 million funding round was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and the British multinational energy and services company Centrica, alongside a syndicate of investors including Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital.
The investment will enable the construction of one of the world’s largest long duration energy storage (LDES) facilities in Carrington, Manchester, using Highview Power’s proprietary LAES technology. Once complete, it will have a storage capacity of 300 MWh and an output power of 50 MWs per hour for six hours. Construction will begin on the site immediately, with the facility operational in early 2026, supporting over 700 jobs in construction and the supply chain.
Note.
- The UK Infrastructure Bank is a is a British state-owned development bank.
- Centrica plc is an international energy and services company.
- Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group that focuses on finding, mining and processing the Earth’s mineral resources.
- The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
- KIRKBI is the Kirk Kristiansen family’s private holding and investment company founded to build a sustainable future for the family ownership of the LEGO Group.
- Mosaic Capital are an American investment firm.
With six partners, that is just £50 million per partner.
As that sum is very much small change for the likes of these guys and the question of taking an equity stake is not mentioned in Highview Power’s news item, it looks like this deal could be a try-before-you-buy deal with some of the partners or a simple investment with others.
Consider.
- Gresham House, Gore Street and others have proven that investing in lithium-ion batteries give a good return on investment.
- The Carrington long duration energy storage facility will be located near to the 884 MW gas-fired Carrington power station. I suspect that Centrica and Rio Tinto will be interested to see how the hybrid power-station performs.
- Could the Lego Group owners be looking at using solar power, wind power and a LDES to reduce the carbon footprint of their stores?
I would assume, that all the investors would get full details on the performance of the batteries.
Someone To Build The LDES
In Bilfinger Drives Highview Power’s Innovative Storage Project, Accelerating The Energy Transition, I describe how German company will build the Carrington LDES.
The Advantages Of An LDES over a BESS
This is only a short list, of the advantages I see.
- An LDES is easily recyclable.
- The LDES has less exotic materials.
- An LDES can be built from zero-carbon steel.
- Highview are claiming a 40-year life for their LDES.
- Highview is already talking about 200MW/2.5GWh LDES systems.
- Two 200MW/2.5GWh systems working together with a wind or solar farm, can replace a 400 MW gas- or coal-fired station.
- I suspect one of Highview’s LDES systems could be placed offshore, if needed.
I also believe that Highview’s LDES systems could be incorporated into complex chemical plants to increase the efficiency.
Are Goldman Sachs Stitching Together A Large Deal On Energy Storage?
Everything now seems to be in place to build these LDES one after the other, to accelerate the energy transition.
With a good supply of orders and enough money to build each system, I cab see no reason, why several systems a month cannot be built and installed.
I have worked with companies like Goldman Sachs in the past, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that they have created the consortium, so that all members get the returns and recognition, they disserve.
Adding Lego Group To The Consortium Could Be A Masterstroke
The Lego Group has lots of stores and theme parks worldwide and a reputation for good design and environmental standards.
Last year, I wrote Bedford Depot’s Massive Solar Roof Helps Thameslink On Way To Net Zero. This was putting a solar roof on a rail depot, but surely buildings like this would be suitable for a Highview LDES.
Bilfinger Drives Highview Power’s Innovative Storage Project, Accelerating The Energy Transition
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Bilfinger, who are a European multinational engineering and services company.
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for Bilfinger.
Bilfinger SE (previously named Bilfinger Berger AG) is a European multinational company specialized in civil and industrial construction, engineering and services based in Mannheim, Germany.
Fifty years ago, I was playing a very small part in the designing of complex chemical plants for ICI. My part was mainly to check, the mathematics and dynamics for the designs, the engineers wanted to use.
The experience certainly left me with the belief, that to design a world-class chemical plant is not an easy process.
So if I was needing a complex chemical plant, I would call in the experts.
A Highview Power energy storage system, may not be a chemical plant, but it shares many of the factors of chemical plants, waterworks and sewage plants. So building one, needs a company, with wide experience, which Bilfinger certainly appear to have.
This paragraph from the press release, summarises Bilfinger’s roll in Hghview Power’s Manchester project to create a 50 MW/300 MWh battery based on Highview’s proprietary long duration energy storage system.
The scope of Bilfinger’s services ranges from the procurement of steel to extensive plant construction services, including mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, insulation, painting and structural steel work, along with the overall management of all aspects of construction, including civil works and equipment installation. As principal contractor, Bilfinger is committed to ensuring the highest safety standards on site.
In UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica & Partners Invest £300M in Highview Power Clean Energy Storage Programme To Boost UK’s Energy Security, I described how Highview Power had recruited high-class backers to fix the companies finances.
It looks like the Bilfinger deal to build the first system, is the last piece of the jigsaw and will see Highview Power on its way.
The Anonymous Widower 