Battery store plan at power station site near Lochluichart
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A major battery energy storage facility capable of handling up to 50MW of power is being proposed for a site near Lochluichart in Wester Ross.
The site is located roughly 800 metres north-west of Grudie Bridge, which sits at the western end of Lochluichart.
Applicant Lochluichart Battery Storage Ltd claims that the site's location close to the existing Grudie Bridge power station, and 700 metre distance from the nearest house, will make the site ideal for use as a storage facility.
It also argues that its location away from the nearby A832 and amid existing plantation woodland will help to minimise any visual and environmental impact in the area as it would not be visible from any houses or roads.
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If approved the site would feature batteries housed in steel containers, as well as "associated electrical equipment, access tracks, substation, stores, fencing and new planting".
Each battery container would stand around three metres high, as too would the power converters and transormers. Access to the site would be via an existing estate road that leaves the A832 by Grudie Bridge, before than turning onto a new track leading into the site itself.
In supporting documents, lodged with the application, Lochluichart Battery Storage Ltd cited a "national need for increased energy storage" as reason for the proposals and stressed that "the site has been selected and designed to appropriately avoid, minimise and mitigate impacts from the proposed development".
It added: "The UK is moving away from carbon intensive fossil fuels towards low carbon sources. One aspect of this is an increasing need for energy storage, in combination with developments in energy storage technology, to assist in cost-effectively matching supply and demand on the electricity grid."
It continued: "The project requires to be sited close to a substation with suitable electrical connection capacity. The site has been chosen because it fits these criteria and is considered to have acceptable impacts in terms of amenity and other impacts.
"This proposal has been designed carefully and will be well from the road. The site is on forestry land, the use of this land has been minimised by a compact design. The loss of woodland due to the footprint of the scheme will be replaced with new planting locally to give a net increase in tree cover."
It concluded by saying the planned site "would provide a useful contribution to national energy and carbon reduction targets, grid stability and local energy generation.
"The project will provide employment during construction and ongoing value added in operation and maintenance and contribute local authority rates."
