Battery storage facility proposals for Mid Balnacraig near Alness set for second public consultation event at Ardross as Intelligent Land Investments Group Ltd agrees to request
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A SECOND public consultation event is to be held over plans to build a large battery storage facility in Easter Ross.
The plants are used to store surplus electricity generated by renewables such as wind turbines for feeding into the National Grid when required.
The company behind the move, Intelligent Land Investments Group Ltd (ILI), Hamilton, have lodged a proposal of application notice (PAN) with Highland Council, which regards it as a major application.
A consultation event was held previously in Alness, but the firm has now agreed to a request from Ardross Comunity Council for a second event at Ardross on a date still to be arranged.
The site at Mid Balnacraig near an Alness grid sub-station lies in the area covered by Ardross Community Council.
ILI said, all being well, it hoped to progress to a full planning application being lodged some time in August.
The Ardross facility would, if approved, have capacity up to 50MW, and would involve an access track, energy storage equipment, meter building, security cameras, fencing and new planting of trees.
ILI Group, which is the main shirt sponsor for Inverness Caley Thistle FC, is a land investment company which operates a number of land-based investment funds primarily in the renewable energy and residential sectors.
It is currently building a similar facility at Blackpark, Nairn, and is behind the major Red John pump storage project above Loch Ness at Dores. It already has planning permission and ILI’s media manager Andrew Hughes said it was hoped to start construction next year, and have the major power station connected by 2027.
Mr Hughes said these facilities are all part of the national drive for net zero carbon emission, with the UK seeking 50 gigawatts of storage by 2050.
