Construction of 'milestone' project near Keith begins
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CONSTRUCTION of a "milestone" project near Keith that is set to help Scotland on its net zero journey has begun.
Zenobē, an international electric vehicle fleet and battery storage specialist, has begun construction on the first 200MW of a pioneering 300MW battery site in Blackhillock.
The project will be the first in the world to deliver stability services using a transmission-connected battery and represents an important milestone in the UK's net zero transition.
It will increase the uptake of renewable power to the nation's electricity grid.
Increasing the amount of wind power on the transmission network is projected to avoid around 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere in the next 15 years, lowering consumer bills.
The battery forms part of a 750 million investment in Scotland from Zenobē.
James Basden, Co-founder and director of Zenobē, said: “Our battery at Blackhillock will use cutting edge technology to provide essential services needed to lower consumer bills and bring more renewable energy onto the grid.
"We look forward to bringing this project to fruition and accelerating the UK towards a zero-carbon energy system.
"This is one of several major battery flexibility projects we’re working on in Scotland at the moment, shaping the future for how grid scale battery projects will work on grids across the globe.”
When fully built, Blackhillock will be a 300MW/600MWh project. It will be the first to provide the full suite of active and reactive power services in the world and will be the largest transmission connected battery in Europe when commissioned.
Phase 1 of the project (200MW/400MW) is due to go live in summer 2024 with Phase 2 (an additional 100MW) due to go live in 2026.
The development of the project is an important step for Scotland and its 2045 net zero journey. It closely follows the publication of the country’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan that recognises the need to increase grid scale battery storage capacity.
The draft strategy calls for the delivery of 20GW of additional low-cost renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030, including 12GW of onshore wind.
The storage facility at Blackhillock is contracted to provide Stability Services to National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) to improve the reliability of the UK’s increasingly renewable power system.
