Largest ever UK pumped hydro scheme granted consent

Gilkes Energy has secured planning consent for a 1.8 GW/40 GWh pumped hydro energy storage project, the largest of its kind to date in the United Kingdom.

The Earba Pumped Storage Hydro project is located at Loch Earba in the Scottish Highlands, around 200 km north of Glasgow on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park.

The proposed development would operate by transferring water between Loch Earba and an upper reservoir, Loch Leamhain. When the project’s upper reservoir is full, it would have enough storage capacity to generate 22 hours of electricity at its full 1.8 GW power rating, according to planning documents for the project.

Works at the proposed site will include constructing dams to raise the water levels of both lochs, which will be connected by an underground waterway system including up to three headrace tunnels. Other key elements of the project include building a powerhouse and indoor electrical switchyard, two aqueducts, a new junction off a nearby major road plus a bridge over the River Spean which flows close to the site. The planning application also includes proposals for two large-scale peatland and woodland restoration projects.

In a press release, Gilkes Energy Managing Director Carl Crompton said that now “the real work begins” as the company starts to transform a consented project into a fully designed, tendered and costed venture. “Our next steps include securing the substantial capital needed to bring this exciting project to life and making it fully financeable,” he said.

David Tomb, Earba’s project director, noted that it has been more than 50 years since the last UK pumped hydro storage project broke ground, making it “essential” to work with suppliers to develop the supply chain capacity needed for a project of this scale.

Gilkes Energy expects the project to create around 500 on-site jobs during a six-to-seven-year construction period.

The Earba approval quickly follows Gilkes Energy submitting a planning application for another major long-duration energy storage (LDES) project developed in partnership with SSE. The two businesses have applied for planning consent to build a 1.8 GW/36 GWh PHES project in Scotland.