Scottish government approves two BESS projects totaling 10 GWh in one day

The Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit has granted planning permission to four BESS projects in a single day, including one 16-hour BESS and one 18-hour BESS. Combined power output for the four projects is 1.4 GW.

Two of the projects that secured a development consent order (DCO) on Sept. 7 were previously selected for the UK government’s cap-and-floor program, which will provide revenue support for long-duration energy storage projects.

First announced in October 2024, the cap-and-floor scheme is intended to de-risk investment in UK LDES. The first selection round identified 16 projects from a shortlist of 77, including 11 BESS projects, three pumped hydro projects, one compressed air energy storage (CAES) project and a vanadium redox flow battery.

LDES cap-and-floor works by providing a revenue floor for projects, with a revenue ceiling above which projects must pay back excess earnings. A similar program for interconnector projects has already proved successful in building out UK capacity.

The two newly consented LDES projects are both being developed by Field Energy in the north of Scotland. The 200 MW Fyrish BESS, near Alness in the Scottish Highlands, is listed as a 16.5-hour duration in the LDES cap-and-floor decision released earlier in 2026, while the 400 MW New Deer BESS in Aberdeenshire was announced as an 18.03-hour duration project.

LDES projects were not the only large BESS applications approved by the Energy Consents Unit. Scottish government officials also approved Field Energy’s 300 MW Spittal BESS near Caithness, and the 500 MW Abbotshaugh BESS, also near New Deer in Aberdeenshire, developed by Island Green Power.

While no capacity energy storage figure was listed for Abbotshaugh BESS, planning documents list 246 battery containers for the project, which will connect to the 400 kV New Deer 2 substation according to Great Britain’s Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) register. Field Energy’s New Deer 2 substation will also connect at the site.

The flurry of BESS approvals on Sept. 7 follows success for the 500 MW Muttonhole Road BESS in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, which secured planning consent on Aug. 17. The project site is located around 20 km from the 539 MW Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the United Kingdom. Other recent planning consent approvals include the Sept. 4 sign-off of a 50 MW solar project with 40 MW BESS in Kintore, Aberdeenshire.

Abbotshaugh BESS

Island Green Power chief executive officer Bob Psaradellis, who was celebrating the company winning approval for the 500 MW / 2 GWh Abbotshaugh BESS, thanked the ministers and the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) for the Abbotshaugh project. 

“Great work by Nick Bowen and our fantastic ecosystem of internal and external teams that drove this project forward.  We are grateful for the support of Scottish ministers and the ECU and for everyone who participated in the process,” said Psaradellis.

Bowen, who is the project development manager at Island Green Power, said that the company will continue to work with the local community. 

“We will continue working closely with the local community and our project partners as we progress towards the next stage,” Bowen said. 

Construction is expected to take approximately 18-24 months, with a connection target of 2033, though that date may change depending on the approval secured.