The UK’s biggest storage battery is to be installed at a Glasgow wind farm.
The largest storage battery in the United Kingdom, which will cover an area equivalent to half a football pitch will be installed at a wind farm in Glasgow, Scotland.
The ‘super battery’ will be installed at the UK’s biggest onshore wind farm, storing energy created by 215 turbines. It will have twice the capacity of any battery currently installed in the UK and will be a major step forward in producing greener, more sustainable electricity.
The Whitelee wind farm is capable of generating 539MW of electricity at peak output which is enough to power 300,000 homes, roughly all the homes in Glasgow.
Scottish Power have now been given the green light to install the battery and the firm’s Chief Executive, Keith Anderson claims: ‘This is a significant step forward on the road to baseload for renewable energy.’
Planning permission was granted by South Lanarkshire Council in May and the project has now received backing from the Scottish government.
The 50MW, lithium-ion battery will ensure a consistent supply of renewable energy even when wind availability is low, storing excess energy created when wind levels are strong.
The facility will be located on vacant land within the Ardochrig substation compound, on the edge of the wind farm, hopefully ensuring a straight-forward connection to the National Grid.
Keith Anderson said: “We know that renewable energy generation needs to quadruple and we know that onshore wind is the cheapest form of green energy. By integrating storage technologies with onshore wind, we are blowing away one of the myths about renewable generation not being available when you need it.”
He added: “Natural resources like wind and solar are variable in their very nature, and by using a battery we can ensure we optimise our ability to use the resource most effectively.”
The facility is expected to be in operation by the end of 2020, with working beginning at the start of the year.