East Ayrshire electricity grid stability scheme granted planning permission

Statkraft, Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, has been granted planning permission to construct a pioneering Greener Grid Park on land adjacent to Coylton substation, which will store energy in 50MW batteries, increasing the stability of the electricity grid, and allow more renewable power to be transmitted through the network.  

Even when there is enough renewable energy to meet the demands of homes and businesses, National Grid ESO – who run the electricity system in Great Britain – sometimes need to pause wind and solar farms, and turn fossil fuel power stations back on, just to provide stability to the electricity network. They have identified Coylton as an area which requires grid stabilisation. This new Greener Grid Park will provide that in a clean, green way, helping to make fossil fuels a thing of the past.  

The stability is provided by battery technology, with grid forming converters attached, which always stay in ‘grid-forming’ mode, meaning they inherently resist changes in voltage and frequency on the electricity grid. Meanwhile the batteries will store, import, and export energy which will facilitate the decarbonisation of Great Britain’s electricity supply.

The scheme is designed to deliver the flexibility needed to stabilise the grid and eliminate the need to run fossil fuel power plants. Batteries would charge at times when there is a surplus of renewable energy generation in Great Britain. Construction of the project is expected to begin later in 2024. 

Statkraft original submitted a minor planning application for Coylton Greener Grid Park in 2021, and received consent from East Ayrshire Council in August 2022, with the application receiving no objections. At the time of submission, National Grid ESO had not confirmed their exact requirements for the project. Once these were confirmed, Statkraft then revised its plans and submitted this subsequent major planning application to reflect this. 

Statkraft already operates two Greener Grid Parks; Keith in north-east Scotland, and Lister Drive, in Liverpool, with construction already underway on a third in Renfrewshire, and a fourth site in Swansea will see work start later in 2024. Statkraft is a leader in grid stability, with multiple other projects in development across the UK.  

Coylton Greener Grid Park will also deliver a community fund of £20,000 per year, supporting environmental projects in the local area, during the lifetime of the project. Activities that could be considered for grants could include energy efficiency audits of community buildings, educational activities, training for voluntary groups in reducing their own carbon footprints, and EV charging points.  

Sarah Tullie, Statkraft’s Project Manager for Coylton Greener Grid Park said: “I want to thank East Ayrshire Council for backing our project. Greener Grid Parks are a key tool in helping the UK transition to green energy. Projects like them mean we’ll eventually end the need to turn on polluting fossil fuel power stations, just to provide stability to the electricity grid.  

“Having a stable grid because of projects like this will allow more wind and solar energy to be built and connected, meaning lower bills for consumers because renewable power is cheaper. Statkraft will continue to play a key role in delivering innovative solutions like this and help to break our reliance on fossil fuels for good.”