UK to build its largest 1.8 GW pumped hydro project, to power 1.4 million houses
When full, the project’s upper reservoir will store enough energy to generate 22 hours of electricity, integrating more renewables into the UK energy system.
The Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit has granted planning permission to Kendal-based Gilkes Energy for a 1.8 GW/40 GWh pumped hydro energy storage project at Loch Earba in the Scottish Highlands. Located about 124 miles from Glasgow, the project is set to be the largest of its kind in the UK.
The Earba Pumped Storage Hydro project, near the Cairngorms National Park, is set to operate by transferring water between Loch Earba and an upper reservoir, Loch Leamhain. The project’s upper reservoir, when full, will store enough energy to generate 22 hours of electricity at its full 1.8 GW capacity, supplying power to over 1.4 million households annually.
Power for 1.4 million households each year
The proposed site work will involve constructing dams to raise the water levels of both lochs, connected by an underground waterway system with up to three headrace tunnels. Key elements of the project include building a powerhouse, an indoor electrical switchyard, two aqueducts, a new road junction, and a bridge over the River Spean, which flows near the site.