Scottish and Southern Energy Gets Green Light for Sloy Pumped Storage Station

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Scottish and Southern Energy plc (LSE:SSE) (SSE) (Perth, Scotland) has received the go-ahead to build a new pumped storage power station at the U.K.'s the largest conventional hydropower station.

The proposed pumped storage station will be located at the Sloy hydroelectric power station at Loch Lomond in Scotland and will have a generating capacity of 60 megawatts (MW). The station will pump water from Loch Lomond to Loch Sloy during times of low electricity demand, which will enable the storage of energy that can be later used during periods of high demand.

SSE announced plans to develop the power station last year, but the Scottish government has only now given it the green light. According to SSE, the station will help generate an additional 100 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually to help meet peak demand.

Construction of the pumped storage station will begin in 2012 and will take about two years to complete.

SSE Project Manager Bill Jack, said: "Many of SSE's hydroelectric stations have been in operation for over 50 years and still make a significant contribution to the supply of renewable energy in the UK. Our goal is to maintain a diversified portfolio of power stations, with the flexibility to respond to customer demand for electricity, while achieving a 50% reduction in the carbon dioxide intensity of electricity produced. Pumped storage can help us achieve this goal."

SSE owns and operates more than 1,450 MW of capacity in conventional hydroelectric schemes in Scotland, including the 300-MW pumped storage facility at Foyers.

SSE's hydroelectric plans were dealt a severe blow in August 2009 when rocks partially blocked the main tunnel connecting the reservoir to the just-completed 100-MW Glendoe Hydropower Plant. For additional information, see related news item from August 24, 2009 - Rockfall Shuts Down New Scottish Hydroelectric Plant.

The power station, which is east of Fort Augustus in Scotland, had only just opened in July. According to SSE, the rock fall was more severe than originally thought, and the plant may not reopen until 2011, or even 2012. The Glendoe Hydropower Station was the first large-scale Scottish hydroelectric project in 50 years. The facility took two years to build and cost approximately £160 million ($253 million).

The Sloy hydroelectric plant was commissioned in 1950 and has a generating capacity of 152 MW. It was the first scheme built by the now-dissolved North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board.

A report released at the start of this year, which is backed by the Scottish government, estimates that Scotland has almost double the hydropower potential than was previously estimated. Potential hydro resources are now estimated to be 1.2 gigawatts (GW), up from a 2008 report that listed them at 657 MW. For additional information, see related news item from January 27, 2010 - Scotland Doubles Estimates of Hydropower Potential.

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