SSE progresses development of 1.3-GW Scottish pumped hydro project

SSE Renewables, part of British utility SSE PLC (LON:SSE), announced today that it was completed the construction of the required exploratory tunnel at the site of the Coire Glas pumped hydro storage project in the Scottish Highlands which has a targeted capacity of up to 1.3 GW.

The 1.2-kilometre (0.7 mi) long tunnelling is part of the exploratory works which were launched in December 2022 and are being conducted by mining and tunnelling company STRABAG UK. Other technical partners include Stantec and COWI, which designed and supervised the ground investigation programme.

The Coire Glas facility is developed at Loch Lochy in the Great Glen. It is expected to provide 30 GWh of long duration electricity storage, enough to power three million British homes for up to 24 hours.

SSE Renewables expects to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project in late 2025 or early 2026. Such a timeline could see construction works started in the second half of 2026, subject to being successful in the administrative allocation of an investable cap and floor mechanism, according to the press statement.

In March 2023, SSE committed to investing GBP 100 million (USD 126.9m/EUR 116.1m) into the project which is touted as Britain’s biggest pumped hydro storage scheme in 40 years. At the time, the company said that around half of the development investment will be allocated to the pre-construction refinement phase, including a comprehensive package of site investigation works.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.270/EUR 1.162)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!