Coriolis Energy and ESB’s 82MW Kirkan wind farm and battery storage project in the Scottish Highlands has secured planning permission.
Located in the Garve district in the Ross and Cromarty region south of the A835 road, the proposed development comprises 17 wind turbines with a maximum height to blade tip of 175m.
Each machine is expected to produce up to 4.8MW of power to create a total of just under 82MW.
RSK Environment was tasked with completing the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and managing the consent process and application.
RSK director and the EIA project manager for the scheme Joe Somerville: “This proposed development is one of the first wind farms in the UK co-located with a battery energy storage system to gain consent. This means that not only does the proposal potentially add significantly to the energy decarbonisation of Scotland and the UK, but it can also contribute to reducing energy curtailment, where energy being produced would otherwise be lost due to the grid being ‘full’, and providing grid stability.”
Coriolis Energy development project manager for the scheme Trevor Hunter said: “It was incredibly useful to be able to draw on RSK’s wide range of disciplines as part of a complex renewable energy project. Their dedication and expertise have played a pivotal role in securing a successful result for the Kirkan project, for which we are tremendously grateful.
“Of course, we need many more such projects to contribute to our legally binding targets as well, increasing energy security and lowering energy bills, so it is ever more important that projects like Kirkan are given proportionate, fair and efficient consideration and processing by all relevant stakeholders and decision-makers.”