Background

We are proposing to build a 500 MW Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) project on consented industrial land at the Hagshaw Energy Cluster, to the north of Douglas and south of Coalburn in rural South Lanarkshire.

The Hagshaw Cluster has long been at the heart of Scotland’s renewable energy ambitions. Previously granted consent for a multi-use renewable energy and industrial hub, the strategic importance of this site remains unchanged. Now, as it transitions to become Hagshaw LDES, it is evolving to meet Scotland’s growing need for electricity storage to achieve our decarbonisation requirements.

LDES will make an important contribution to ensuring a stable, clean and reliable electricity system in the UK. By storing energy when demand is low and releasing it over periods of extreme demand, the Proposed Development will help the energy sector cope with the peaks in supply and demand that the electricity grid in the UK faces on a daily basis.

Hagshaw LDES is capable of near-term delivery and ensures that this strategically significant renewable energy location continues to be a cornerstone of Scotland’s net zero future while delivering direct benefits to the local community.

The Proposed Development

A LDES site is a facility designed to store and release electricity over long periods, anywhere from several hours to days or even weeks. These sites are essential to the green energy transition as they help create a more stable and reliable electricity grid by storing surplus renewable energy and delivering it back to the grid when it is needed most.

The Proposed Development has a capacity of 500 megawatts (MWs) and is made up of a network of flow batteries, a type of LDES technology known for its safety, durability, and efficiency. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries use a water based, non-flammable electrolyte, significantly reducing fire risk and are capable of exporting electricity over much longer periods. The Proposed Development is capable of discharging 500MWs of electricity over a period of up to 12 hours, which equates to up to 6 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity storage and export capability. That is enough electricity to power approximately 1.3 million homes for a continuous period of up to 12 hours.

An indicative site layout plan is available from the downloads page of our website, alongside the full Section 36 application submission documents.

Community Benefits

We are currently proposing a community benefit contribution of £50,000 per year (index-linked) as part of our Hagshaw LDES proposals. This equates to £2 million over the project’s 40 year operational lifetime. We are keen to hear your views on how the community benefit fund could be used.

Local Supplier Approach

The Proposed Development layout has been designed based on a candidate flow battery technology from Invinity Energy Systems who are a leading global manufacturer of modular vanadium flow batteries for utility-scale energy storage with manufacturing bases in Motherwell and Bathgate.

Total construction spend on the Proposed Development, delivered using flow batteries manufactured in Scotland, is estimated to generate a significant £770 million Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish economy. In addition, the operational spend on the project is estimated to generate a further £8 million GVA in Scotland every year over its 40-year lifetime through the servicing and maintenance of the LDES system.

Hagshaw LDES Ltd is committed to a local supplier approach through a Responsible Contracting Policy which aims to deliver a significant proportion of construction and operational contracts to local companies.

Consultation

The application for the Proposed Development has now been submitted under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit (ECU) seeking consent for the Hagshaw LDES project.

Anyone wishing to make formal representations should do so by contacting the ECU on their website, by email or by post, quoting the application reference ECU00006107.

Full contact details are available
www.energyconsents.scot

A full copy of the Section 36 Planning Application can be viewed here or by clicking on the downloads link below.

If you have any questions on the project or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the project team via the contact link below or directly by email to: info@3renergy.co.uk