SSE to invest 100 million in UK’s first pumped hydro project

SSE will invest 100 million in the UK's first pumped hydro storage scheme in 40 years in a bid to support the UK's renewable energy transition.

The project will take excess energy from the grid and use it to pump water 500 m up a hill from Loch Lochy in the Scottish Highlands to a vast upper reservoir equivalent to nearly 11,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The energy would be stored before being released to power the grid when wind output is low and customer demand is high.

Coire Glas could power three million homes and more than double the UK's electricity storage capacity, with SSE arguing it could provide flexible power for up to 24 hours non-stop.

It is expected to require a capital investment of over 1.5 billion to build, and received planning consent from the Scottish Government in 2020.

SSE hopes to make a final investment decision on Coire Glas in 2024, which is subject to development progress and the policy environment, with the aim of fully building the pumped storage project by 2031.

The energy security in the UK could be boosted by an increasingly renewables-led system.

Coire Glas would be able to deliver 30 GWh of long duration storage and will begin generating enough renewable energy to power three million homes in just under five minutes.

The next phase of detailed project design and refinement, construction planning and procurement will progress through 2023 and into early 2024.

Nearly half of the 100 million development investment will be allocated to the pre-construction phase of the Coire Glas project.

This includes site investigation works that have begun and will complete later this year, involving the construction of a major exploratory tunnel to allow the project team to fully assess the geological conditions that will be encountered in constructing the scheme.

The Scottish government s net zero and energy secretary Michael Matheson urged Downing Street to help improve the investment climate to help develop renewable energy.

He said that Coire Glas will be more than double Britain's long term electricity storage capacity, allowing the grid to deploy renewable electricity.

It is important that the UK government puts in place the appropriate market and regulatory arrangements to support the industry's development as a matter of urgency. Only with a supportive policy environment can this sector realise its full potential. SSE finance director Gregor Alexander said that while Coire Glas doesn't need subsidy, it does require more certainty around its revenues and it is critically important that the UK government confirms its intentions on how they will help with the deployment of such projects.