Fred Olsen Renewables has dropped the 30MW battery storage element from its proposed Invercassley wind farm in Scotland following local concerns.
The 22-turbine project, which has a combined capacity of 158.4MW, is located approximately 5km north-west of Rosehall, Sutherland.
The project first went public in December 2024 and is one of a number of operational, consented or proposed wind farm schemes in the wider area.
Public consultation events were held in February 2025 during which strong concerns were raised about the proposed battery energy storage system (BESS).
At a meeting of Creich Community Council, Fred Olsen’s project team announced that they would drop the BESS element in response to local feedback.
Retired chemical engineer William Lockyer, who wrote a paper on BESS for the No Ring of Steel Kyle of Sutherland (NoROS) anti-wind farm campaign group, was among those who raised concerns.
Invercassley project manager Laura Bell (pictured) said: “This decision has not been taken lightly. The BESS is a core component of the scheme and we have not, to my knowledge, taken such a decision on any other wind farm project in the UK.
“However, the strength of community consultation feedback and recent discussions with local BESS campaigner, William Lockyer, have cemented our decision.
“Whilst we recognise that there are other local concerns with the project, we hope this decision demonstrates that we are listening to the community and striving to develop a more acceptable scheme.
“We remain open to constructive dialogue with the community on other aspects of the design and look forward to presenting our updated proposals at the second set of public exhibitions which will be held later this year.”
Lockyer welcomed the decision to remove the BESS element from the proposal but said he did not endorse the construction of the wind farm.
The Fred Olsen team agreed to meet with members of the community council to ensure the jobs and supply chain remain local to Kyle of Sutherland should the project be consented.
If approved, the scheme could deliver up to £27m in index-linked community benefit to the local area over its 35-year operational lifetime.
Fred Olsen said the funding would support community-led local projects and could be used to address local challenges such as fuel poverty, energy efficiency and connectivity.