Investing in Europe’s largest battery storage project, located in Scotland

The expansion of a battery storage project, split between Lanarkshire and Fife in Scotland, means that Brunel is now invested in the largest battery storage project across Europe.

Last week, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners confirmed that it was investing in two further projects: Coalburn 2 and Devilla.

Coalburn, a former coal mining site in South Lanarkshire, Scotland is being transformed into two giant battery storage facilities (Coalburn 1 and 2), supporting the climate transition. A similar site, Devilla, is being developed in Fife, 50 miles northeast of Coalburn.

The combined project is the largest battery storage development in Europe.

“Large-scale battery storage projects, such as CIP’s Coalburn and Devilla projects in Scotland, enhance energy security, provide the grid with much needed flexibility and enable faster deployment of low-cost renewables,” said Nischal Argawal, partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

“At the end of the day, it is our investors, including the Brunel Pension Partnership and other Local Government Pension Scheme partners, who make the transition to renewables possible. I am proud of the trust that our investors place in CIP – private capital is and will be a driver in the energy transition and in delivering a net zero carbon economy by 2050.”

Coalburn 1 & 2, and Devilla will deliver an aggregate power capacity of 1.5GW, enabling them to store and supply the grid with a total of 3GWh of electricity – equivalent to the electricity demand of over 4.5 million households, across a 2-hour period, according to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

The location of these storage assets is crucial. The English-Scottish borders are where Electricity Transmission Grid congestion most frequently occurs. These batteries can store surplus Scottish wind-generated electricity during peak supply, instead of it being wasted via curtailment – enabling them to then release the energy as required.

Brunel is invested in the projects with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners through the Brunel Cycle 2 Renewable Infrastructure Portfolio.

For more, see Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners