Project
Loch Kemp Storage
Whitebridge, Highlands
Loch Kemp Storage will be able to help the National Grid balance the daily fluctuations caused by the intermittent nature of renewables by storing excess energy as raised water.
Scotland has the UK’s highest mountain and largest inland lochs. This, combined with high rainfall, makes the Scottish Highlands an excellent location for pumped storage hydro.
Loch Kemp Storage will be able to store and generate up to 600MW of energy, using excess electricity produced by renewables to help balance the UK National Grid. If built out the scheme would increase the existing UK pumped storage hydro capacity by over a fifth, suppling over 1 million homes with instantaneous clean electricity for up to 15 hours.
Pumped storage hydro will play an essential role in the journey towards net zero, and Loch Kemp Storage provides an opportunity to invest in the long-term environmental management of the area.
Services
Wholesale power markets
The Wholesale Market is the primary market for wholesale electricity trading between generators and suppliers. Electricity can be traded from years ahead up to one hour ahead of the delivery. Flexible technologies such as batteries and gas reciprocating engines are mainly targeting short-term trading by providing real-time flexibility to help balance the system. Therefore, they trade mainly in day-ahead to intraday markets.
Day-ahead hourly, half-hourly and intraday auctions
Within-day power markets on the intraday exchange
Capacity Market
Two auctions are held yearly to disburse capacity contracts 1 and 4 years ahead of delivery for keeping generation capacity ready for response.
Providers are paid an availability payment for being connected. New build generators can apply for a 15-year contract in the T-4 auction while existing generators or those able to reduce demand can apply for a one-year contract in the T-1 auction. To ensure delivery, there are stringent rules to prequalify and meet the various milestones required to participate in the Capacity Market.
All of Statera’s assets are designed to deliver this reserve service to National Grid.
Balancing Mechanism
This is to respond to events including power station trips, demand surges and intermittent renewable generation. Flexible technologies such as batteries and gas reciprocating engines are well placed to provide real-time flexibility in the BM to help.