Energy firm eyes up site for huge batteries
Power could be stored at Whitehouse of Milliken estate
Giant storage batteries that save power for the National Grid could be housed in the Renfrewshire countryside.
An energy development company has its eye on a secluded farmland spot near Brookfield.
The site borders an old walled garden at the historic Whitehouse of Milliken estate.
The land is sandwiched between Bridge of Weir Road and the main A737 and the developer, ILI Group Plc, insists it is unlikely to be seen from Brookfield.
The 64 batteries would have the capacity to hold 50 megawatts to be used to help balance the grid system during peak demand or to store power when wind turbines are not spinning.
That’s enough to power 5,000 homes for a day.
Hamilton-based ILI Group Plc is behind a pre-planning application consultation and a live web event has been scheduled for November 30.
The site is 200 metres west of the Whitehouse of Milliken steading and would contain banks of eight and a half feet high metal containers enclosing the lithium batteries.
Only a relatively small number of sites are already storing power across the UK, then firing it back into the system when it needs it.
Whitehouse is of interest because it is close to the existing grid supply station at Johnstone.
ILI manager Andrew Hughes says all the community’s questions will be answered live at the web event.
The company has not yet got a battery storage centre operating, while some have won planning permission and others are in the process.
Andrew said: “We are only at the very start of this project and we want to engage with the community.
“We are involved in three gigawatts of energy storage projects across Scotland, including three pumped hydro schemes.
“If we are going to shift to renewable energy and have an energy system that works, we need to have some kind of storage backup.
“We need ten times the energy storage capacity that we have currently to reach the goal of being carbon net zero by 2045.”
He said the site will be enclosed by a ten-foot high wooden fence and a ring of trees planted to shield it from view.
If we are going to shift to renewable energy ... we need to have some kind of storage backup