LONDON and TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amp Energy, a global Energy Transition Platform, and renewable energy developer, today announces Europe's two biggest battery storage facilities with its 800 MW battery portfolio in central Scotland (the "Scottish Green Battery Complex"). The portfolio is due to be operational in April 2024 and will be comprised of two 400 MW battery facilities, each providing 800 MWhrs of energy storage capacity.
- Following consultations with stakeholders and local councils the two sites received planning consent from the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit on the 5th January 2022.
- The 400 MW batteries will be the two largest grid-connected battery storage facilities in Europe.
- Amp X, Amp's proprietary AI-powered digital energy platform, will be used to optimize dispatch of power from the batteries to the electricity grid.
- The projects will provide reliable grid stability services and power management across the central belt of Scotland including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
- By storing and managing the dispatch of renewable energy generated from Scottish windfarms, the projects are future-proofing the UK's electricity infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of expensive transmission upgrades.
Setting the standard for energy storage globally, the projects, located in Hunterston and Kincardine, provide an important step forward for the UK towards achieving its net-zero target. Following the recent ScotWind offshore wind announcement for the planned addition of 25 GW of new renewable generation capacity, the requirement for large-scale energy storage that can shift power and provide grid stability services is even more critical. Over the coming years, Amp's Scottish battery facilities will enable up to 1,750 GWhrs per year of additional renewable energy to be generated in Scotland and transported to other regions of the UK, equivalent to enabling approximately 500 MW of new offshore wind deployments.
"With these ground-breaking projects Amp is making a significant investment in vitally needed green infrastructure as the UK transitions to a fully decarbonized grid. Our projects not only support the growth of renewable generation in Scotland but also provide an alternative to costly transmission upgrades for consumers" said Ben Skinner, Vice President Global Markets at Amp.
The Hunterston and Kincardine projects are also participating in National Grid's Scottish Stability Pathfinder 2 tender, which seeks to address voltage and stability issues faced by the UK electricity grid. Amp's facilities will deploy state-of-the-art grid-forming inverter technology alongside two new Synchronous Condensers installations which also assist with grid stabilisation.
"The UK electricity grid is in the process of transitioning to a greener net-zero market", according to Amp's Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, Paul Ezekiel. "This has only been accelerated with the recently awarded addition of 25GW of offshore wind licenses as part of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing program. Amp's development of strategically located, transmission-connected utility-scale batteries is helping the GB transmission network operator to provide UK citizens with a stable and secure carbon free electricity system."
This investment continues Amp's expansion into Europe which includes development and ownership of solar and wind with large-scale energy storage facilities in Spain and the UK, alongside active development of several green hydrogen projects that complement its Asia-Pacific green hydrogen development activities.
The Scottish Green Battery Complex will be optimized and dispatched by Amp X, Amp's proprietary AI-powered digital energy platform. Amp X relies on its proprietary and already bankable transactive-ready system architecture and cloud-hosted state-of-the-art advanced analytics. Operating autonomously, the Amp X platform provides solutions to grid constraints, providing flexibility and enabling the end-to-end energy transition.
"With our global scale and the disruptive innovation that we are deploying with our Amp X platform, we are at the forefront of the global energy transition." Paul said. "The deployment of Green Hydrogen and utility-scale energy storage, such as the Scottish Green Battery Complex, is critical to our continued rapid growth and long-term strategy."
About Amp
Amp is a global energy transition platform.
We develop, own and operate clean energy assets throughout our core markets around the world. Alongside Amp X, our disruptive grid-edge technology platform utilizing proprietary artificial intelligence expertise, we are reimagining the grid and leading the Energy Transition. The company is headquartered in Toronto with global operations throughout North America, Australia, Japan, Spain, Czech Republic, and the UK.
Founded in 2009, Amp is a high-growth disruptor at scale, backed by major investments from institutional capital partners including most recently Carlyle, which invested US$374 million for a minority stake in the company in late 2020.
For more information, please visit amp.energy
Fraser Hall, Marketing & Communications, communications@amp.energy
