Why mountain lakes can help to keep the lights on
BRITAIN’S biggest energy providers are seeking approval to hollow out mountains to keep the lights on in the UK. Companies want to develop pumped storage technology, which allows energy suppliers to keep power in reserve should demand suddenly soar.
Water is pumped from a lake up a mountain where it is held in a reservoir behind a dam. Then, when homes need extra power, it is released.
As it plummets down the mountain it generates power.
There are four of these pumped storage stations in the UK – two in Scotland and two in Wales – but power companies want more.
The hurdle is finding hills, lakes and the space to house them. They are also very expensive.
Building one today would cost hun- dreds of millions of pounds. But energy giants such as Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Scottish Power, owned by Spanish firm Iberdrola, believe they are the future. Scottish Power is looking to spend £400m expanding one of its stations, Cruachan in the Scottish Highlands, by building more generators or increasing the size of the reservoir and building a bigger dam. But it wants a guarantee that the investment will be worth-while and is in talks with the Government on how to do this. Ross Galbraith, station man-ager and head of UK hydro for Scottish Power, said: 'Pump storage is extremely reliable and flexible. With more sup-port from the Government we believe this could be the ren-aissance for this type of technology.' The Government this year gave Snowdonia Pumped Hydro the go-ahead to build a new £160m hydro storage scheme in Glyn Rhonwy in North Wales. The firm will turn two aban-doned slate quarries into reser-voirs in what will be the UK's first new grid-scale power stor-age facility in over 30 years. SSE has also secured permis-sion to build a new 600MW pumped storage station at Coire Glas near Loch Lochy in the Great Glen. It now wants backing to increase capacity to 1,500MW. The firm has said the project would boost the UK’s capacity but that it’s unlikely to happen soon as it is ‘commercially and regulatory challenged’ – the estimated cost is £800m.
It was also announced in recent weeks that the Ffestiniog hydropower station in Snowdonia, North Wales, will undergo a £50m refurbishment to extend its life by 20 years. It is run by First Hydro Company, part of the Engie Group.
A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesman said: ‘The Government recognises the potential for storage technologies, which is why we have worked with other organisations to invest more than £80m in research and development since 2012, and are seeking to remove barriers to the industry.’