Work on battery site in north of Scotland marks milestone in transition to net zero

Construction work has begun on a pioneering battery site in the north of Scotland that is said to mark an “important milestone” in the transition to net zero.

The move comes after Zenobe, the electric vehicle (EV) fleet and battery storage specialist, reached financial close on the first 200-megawatt (MW) of a 300MW battery site at Blackhillock. Located between Aberdeen and Inverness, the project should significantly increase the uptake of renewable power, including from offshore wind farms at Viking and Beatrice, onto the nation’s electricity grid.

When fully built, Blackhillock will be the first to provide a full suite of active and reactive power services in the world and will be the largest transmission connected battery in Europe when commissioned, the firm noted. Phase one of the project is due to go live in summer 2024 with the second phase expected to go live in 2026. The site is part of Zenobe’s recently announced £750 million investment in Scotland, taking the company’s storage portfolio in the country to more than one gigawatts.

James Basden, co-founder and director of Zenobe, 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. 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.”

The firm has some 1.6GW of battery storage in the UK, either in operation, in construction or in late stage development.