Earba pumped storage hydro scheme

A planning application has now been submitted for what would be one of the UK's largest pumped hydro schemes. It's in a beautiful wild place and another example of wild places on the frontline for energy infrastructure. We invite Trust Members and supporters to share their views...

Introduction

An application has now been submitted for the Earba Pumped Storage Hydro Scheme, which is being proposed on the Ardverikie Estate, within the Mamores-Alder-Rannoch Wild Land Area. The development would significantly change the wild character of Lochan na h’Earba, a loch to the south of Loch Laggan in the Scottish Highlands, and Loch a’Bhealaich Leamhain, a smaller loch, to the south of Lochan na h’Earba.

In March 2023, the Trust reviewed the scoping documentation and visited the proposed site to meet representatives of the developer, Gilkes Energy. We were keen to understand what was being proposed and what the impacts of the development might be on the landscape, nature, and people’s ability to enjoy this area. We subsequently submitted a note of our concerns to the developer.

On paper, it seemed clear this was a large-scale project proposed in a sensitive wild place. On visiting the site, we were left in no doubt that Lochan na h’Earba and the surrounding area is a wild place, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, and that the creation of the project would change the existing wild qualities forever.

For their part, the developer engaged with us fully, listened to our points, and answered all our questions. Having reviewed some of the submitted plans, we believe they took our concerns seriously and have attempted to design the scheme sensitively, with the landscape in mind.

As environmentalists, we want to support renewable energy when needed. This includes adding storage capacity to the UK’s grid; a necessary component of decarbonising the UK's power supply. But part of fulfilling our charitable objectives is to advocate for the protection of wild places such as this and to try to guide development away from the UK’s wildest areas.

There is a lot about this case to consider and weigh up. Below we outline some policy context and thoughts, and we would welcome hearing from our members. Do you support what is being proposed at this site or are you against?

Energy policy context

The Trust understands that the UK requires more energy storage capacity as it transitions towards a decarbonised power system by 2035. This capacity would be available at times when energy demand cannot be met from renewable sources. We also accept the view that pumped hydro storage is at present an environmentally better option than other forms of energy storage. There are known environmental disadvantages to using batteries for storage and hydrogen as an energy store is not yet as advanced.

There are few places in the UK that are suitable for pumped hydro storage and sadly many of those places are remote and wild. When we met with the developer last year, they explained that the site was one of only a very small number of locations where the typography permitted a pumped hydro storage scheme as proposed. Earba’s energy generating and storage capacity is relatively high: its storage capacity is up to 40 GWhr, which equates to 22 hours of generation at 1,800 MW. 

However, we are questioning whether a pumped hydro development in this particular location, is vital to meeting the UK’s future energy storage capacity requirements. Could the future energy storage capacity needs of the UK be met through existing pumped hydro storage in addition to new schemes in less senstive locations, plus a combination of a mix of energy storage technologies that are expected to become available?

The UK Climate Change Committee Report, ‘Delivering a reliable decarbonised power system’, published in March 2023, does not appear to endorse the role of pumped hydro in its future scenarios for energy storage. It seems to emphasise instead the importance of hydrogen for storage, although not yet at a commercially viable scale in the UK; improved – smarter – management of electricity demand, and the role of gas carbon capture and storage (the latter does not sound so reassuring if we want a genuinely decarbonised grid) .

A report from the Royal Society, ‘Large Scale Electricity Storage’, published in September 2023, made clear that the UK needs to be able to store large amounts of energy generated by renewables in future years. It noted the crucial role that hydrogen stored in salt caves will have, with ammonia as a possible ‘fall back’ option. On pumped hydro storage, it states ‘The expansion of pumped storage in the UK is limited by geography and that implies that it will only have a marginal impact on GB’s need for tens of TWh of large-scale storage to complement high levels of wind and solar.’

In terms of existing and under construction pumped hydro schemes. Scottish Renewables reported last year that ‘six projects currently under development in Scotland will more than double the UK’s pumped storage hydro capacity to 7.7GW.' The report goes on to state that ‘Significantly more projects than the six studied for this report will need to be delivered in order to reach the 15GW of storage capacity that the UK Government expects to be the minimum amount required to meet the needs of the energy system in 2050.'

Since the start of this year the Trust has been made aware of proposals for the Fearna pumped hydro scheme (2000MW capacity, partly within Kinlochhourn - Knoydart – Morar Wild Land Area and Moidart, Morar and Glen Sheil Special Landscape Area),  Bailliemeanoch pumped hydro scheme (1500MW capacity, Lochan Airigh on the Argyll peninsula would be dammed and flooded under the proposals), Loch Kemp pumped hydro scheme (600MW capacity, a scheme above the shores of Loch Ness that has caused a lot of concern about the rare plant life that would be put at risk). We are also aware that investigative ground works have started on the consented Coire Glas pumped hydro scheme (1500MW capacity), which the Trust opposed in 2012.

Mitigation through design

It feels important to note the developer's efforts to design this project with the landscape in mind. A list of design mitigations is contained in the Mitigation Schedule, which forms part of the planning application.

Mitigation that is expected to reduce the landscape impacts include:

• Vegetating the downward slopes of the dams on the lower reservoir (Loch Earba) and planting native woodland to soften the prominence of these features in the landscape.
• Landscaping the flooded Loch Earba with promontories on the north and south sides so that rather than becoming a long linear feature in the landscape the flooded area of loch retains a more natural appearance.
• Screening the powerhouse with native woodland planting.
• Setting the powerhouse and substation within a cutting in the hillside.
• Installing underground cables (rather than overhead power line) for the main power connection.
• Creating borrow pits in areas that will be later submerged by water.
• Siting construction compounds to avoid blanket bog habitats.
• Reinstating the construction areas after construction.
• Narrowing the width of access tracks on completion and allowing natural vegetation to re-establish.

The proposed scheme does not have the same impact visually as large-scale onshore wind development or pylon towers, plus associated access tracks cut through upland hillsides. This is partly because some of the development will be underground and hidden or screened from view.

Mitigations, a sensitive approach to design and the biodiversity enhancement outline plans are welcome. In the short term, however, if the proposal gets planning consent, the mitigation and design cannot alter the fact this wild place will be transformed into a construction site, with all the associated noise, construction traffic and dust, artificial light, presence of lorries, machines, and construction compounds that goes with large infrastructure projects. In the longer term, the design mitgation will soften the appearance of the infrastructure in the landscape but the area won't be what it once was; it will become a power station, operating 24/7, and another piece of wild land will have been lost forever.

Find out more

• You can find the planning application on the Energy Consents Unit website by searching using the reference number ‘ECU00005062’ or typing ‘Earba’ into the website's simple search bar.
• You can also find plans and more information about the project from the developer’s website pages.

Next steps

The Trust is preparing to respond to this application. We have emailed our members with a poll asking for your views. If you are a member and have time to complete the poll your views will help to inform our response.

If you wish to respond to the application, you can do so by submitting comments by email to the Energy Consents Unit: EconsentsAdmin@gov.scot. The deadline for responses is 12 April 2024.