First hydropower projects in Great Britain in 40 years given approval
Ofgem has provisionally approved 16 long-duration energy storage projects, including three pumped storage hydro plants in Scotland – the first new hydro facilities in more than four decades.
The UK energy regulator Ofgem has given provisional approval for the construction of the first new hydropower projects in more than 40 years, as part of efforts to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports.
Ofgem published a list of 16 long-duration electricity storage projects that it has provisionally allowed to proceed. The list includes three pumped storage hydroelectric power stations in northern Scotland: Statera Energy's Loch Kemp project, which would draw water from Loch Ness; SSE's Coire Glas at Loch Lochy between Fort William and Inverness; and Gilkes Energy's Earba, which would become the UK's largest pumped storage hydro facility.
These will be the first new facilities since the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales, locally known as 'electric mountain', which was built in 1984.
"Forty years after the country's last pumped storage facility, this government is getting Britain building again," said Energy Minister Michael Shanks. "The lesson from the conflict in Iran is clear: Britain cannot afford to remain at the mercy of volatile fossil fuel markets and leave families exposed to the next price shock."
The other 13 projects given the provisional green light use other energy storage technologies, including compressed air, lithium-ion batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries.
The 16 projects, located across England, Scotland, and Wales, are designed to help balance electricity supply and demand, which can fluctuate due to the unpredictability of renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
"Ofgem is creating the right infrastructure for renewable energy to thrive and improve our energy security and reduce reliance on global gas markets," said Akshay Kaul, director general for infrastructure at Ofgem. "It's fantastic to see such a wide range of technologies coming forward. This takes us a step closer towards the long-duration energy storage we need in a clean power system to maintain secure supply during periods of cold, hot, still or cloudy weather when solar or wind power output may be low."
