The Anonymous Widower

Highview Power Releases More Details Of The Hunterston LDES

In a long and detailed press release, these are the first two paragraphs.

London, 15 October 2024: The First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney MSP, welcomed Highview Power Executives to Scotland House in London today as the company announced its intention to develop its Hunterston project in Scotland as part of its multi-billion-pound LDES programme. Hunterston will deliver five times Scotland’s current operational battery storage capacity and is strategically placed in the grid transmission network to maximise the use of Scottish-produced renewable electricity. This follows Highview Power’s funding round in June where it secured a £300 million investment for its 300MWh proprietary Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) technology at Carrington, near Manchester.

Supported by the Scottish Government, Hunterston is the first project in Highview Power’s second phase, which comprises four projects across Scotland and Northern England. The 2.5GWh LAES plant at Hunterston will deliver an 8-fold increase in storage capacity on Carrington – to deliver enough power 650,000 homes for 12.5 hours.

Note these important points.

  1. The Hunterston battery will be the first of four 200 MW/2.5 GWh batteries.
  2. Together, these four batteries will have a distributed 1600 MW/10 GWh capability.
  3. For comparison, Dinorwig pumped storage hydroelectric power station, in Snowdonia, which opened in 1984, has a 1600 MW/9.1 GWh capability.
  4. The second battery will be in Aberdeenshire.
  5. The Hunterston project will support 1,000 jobs onsite during construction and 650 jobs in the supply chain.

John Swinney, who is First Minister for Scotland, summed the project up like this.

The creation of the largest liquid air energy facility in the world, in Ayrshire, demonstrates just how valuable Scotland is in delivering a low carbon future as well as supporting the global transition to net zero.

October 16, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , | Leave a comment

Highview Power Plans To Develop 2.5GWh LDES Project In Scotland

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Power Technology.

This is the sub-heading.

The liquid air energy storage plant at Hunterston is set to deliver a substantial increase in storage capacity

These first three paragraphs add a few more details.

Highview Power has announced plans to develop a long-duration energy storage (LDES) project in Ayrshire, Scotland, with a capacity of 2.5 gigawatt hours (GWh).

The project will be built at Peel Ports’ property at Hunterston, North Ayrshire and will provide five times the existing battery storage capacity of Scotland.

It is supported by the Scottish government and its strategic location optimises the use of renewable electricity produced in the country.

Note.

  1. Highview Power talks of 200MW/2.5GWh capacity batteries in Scotland on its web site, so I suspect this battery is one of those.
  2. This battery is as large as some pumped storage hydro systems.
  3. In UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica & Partners Invest £300M in Highview Power Clean Energy Storage Programme To Boost UK’s Energy Security, I described the funding now behind Highview Power. The funding appears to be solid, as it includes the UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica, Goldman Sachs and Rio Tinto.

This is a good start for Highview Power.

October 16, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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.

June 25, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.

  1. The UK Infrastructure Bank is a is a British state-owned development bank.
  2. Centrica plc is an international energy and services company.
  3. Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group that focuses on finding, mining and processing the Earth’s mineral resources.
  4. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

June 23, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment