First Minister Humza Yousaf has referred to as on the UK Government to provide support for power storage as he visited the location of a possible new £500 million plant.
Vitality agency Drax has been given permission to develop the brand new underground pumped storage hydro plant at Cruachan, Argyll and Bute – the location of an identical facility owned by the corporate – by the Scottish Government.
Bosses say the brand new centre would carry the location’s era capability to a couple of gigawatt and support 1,000 jobs throughout the availability chain.
Each Drax and the Scottish Government have referred to as on the UK to introduce a “cap and flooring” regime for such power stations, making certain a minimal degree of assured income and thus certainty for tasks to go forward.
The agency, nevertheless, has mentioned it won’t start growth at Cruachan till a regulatory framework is put in place to support it.
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner mentioned: “It is a main milestone in Drax’s plans to construct Britain’s first new pumped storage hydro plant in a era.
“These vegetation play a crucial function in stabilising the electrical energy system, serving to to stability provide and demand via storing extra power from the nationwide grid.
“When Scotland’s wind generators are producing extra power than we want, Cruachan steps in to retailer the renewable electrical energy so it doesn’t go to waste.
“With the proper support from the UK Government, Drax will make investments c.£500 million to greater than double Cruachan’s producing capability and support virtually 1,000 jobs throughout the availability chain throughout development.”
Mr Yousaf mentioned: “Hydro power has actual potential to play a larger function in our transition to web zero and to assist guarantee a resilient and safe electrical energy provide throughout the UK.
“The enlargement of Cruachan will assist to strengthen our power safety by offering much-needed resilience within the system, supporting lots of of jobs and offering an actual increase to the Scottish financial system.
“Nevertheless, we all know that there stay plenty of challenges in growing new hydro power tasks in Scotland.
“The Scottish Government will proceed to urge the UK Government to provide an applicable market mechanism for hydro power and different lengthy period power storage applied sciences, to make sure that the potential for hydro power is totally realised.”
The First Minister in Might wrote to Rishi Sunak urging him to introduce a cap and flooring mechanism for comparable tasks.
