ILI Group has started planning for a new 600 Megawatt (MW) pumped storage hydro project at Loch Ericht, near Dalwhinnie.
It is the second such project by the business, following one at Loch Ness achieving planning consent from Scottish Ministers in June.
The new project will be able to supply 600MW of power for up to 24 hours - enough to power 1.4 million homes - making it one of the largest schemes in Scotland. It will also create a new ‘head pond’ in the hills above Loch Ericht, which will hold 22 million cubic metres of water when full.
Mark Wilson, chief executive at ILI Group, said: “It’s hard to overstate the importance of long-duration storage projects like these to the UK, as we see the increase in the effects of climate change across the world - the recent IPCC report on climate change makes for depressing reading and is another wake-up call to world leaders that further steps need to be taken now to avert disaster.
“There is currently a pipeline of over 5GW of pumped storage in the UK, it would be an outstanding statement of intent, if in the year of COP26 the UK Government put the market mechanisms in place to kick start these projects.”
Yesterday, SSE Renewables announced it was set to invest almost £50m over the next two years to re-power the existing Tummel Bridge hydro-electric power station with modern turbine technology.
This is expected to extend its operational life by at least 40 years, meaning it will be part of the power system in 2050 and playing a part in Scotland's net zero emissions goals.
SSE Renewables will commence the refurbishment works in Spring 2022, with delivery of the works programme expected to support up to 65 construction roles at peak.
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
.jpg?w=600)
