Gilkes Energy has begun work on its first pumped hydro energy storage project, the 900 MW Earba Storage project in the United Kingdom. The site characteristics are ideal for a hydraulic pumped storage project. The proposed project will use Loch a’ Bhealaich Leamhain as the upper reservoir and Lochan na h-Earba as the lower reservoir. A tunnel of about 3 km long will connect the two bodies of water. A power plant will be built on the shore of Loch Earba. The proposed project will store up to 33,000 MWh of energy.
Significant environmental benefits
Gilkes aims to develop and invest in pumped hydro storage capacity to help add more renewables to the UK system, replacing expensive, carbon-emitting gas generation and accelerating the transition to a clean, carbon-free economy. The project will be able to store significant amounts of excess wind energy that would otherwise be lost, potentially saving over one million tons of CO2 per year.
The largest project in the UK
Construction of the Earba Storage Project is expected to take approximately three to four years, with an average of 300 to 400 people on site throughout the construction phase. “After several years of work, we are excited to launch the Earba Pumped Storage Hydro project,” said Carl Crompton, Gilkes Energy’s general manager. “With up to 900 MW of installed capacity and 33,000 MWh of stored energy, this will be the largest project of its kind in the UK.”
