Construction on Lerwick battery storage system could get underway in coming months
CONSTRUCTION work for the battery storage system proposed for Lerwick could get underway by the end of April, according to documents lodged with the planning service.
A construction traffic management plan for Zenobe’s system also highlights how a total of 240 battery units will be delivered to the site, which is located behind the Ocean Kinetics building.
The battery system, which would be constructed by contractor Zenobe on behalf of SSEN, would “keep the lights on” in Shetland if there was an outage on the new transmission network, which includes the subsea cable to the Scottish mainland.
It would be used to supply Shetland whilst the diesel-fired Lerwick Power Station comes out of standby mode. It could take up to an hour for the power station to be up and running.
The power station is expected to go into standby mode in 2026.
The battery development – which has consent for a capacity of up to 100MW – is proposed for land opposite Lerwick Power Station where SSE has been constructing new grid supply point buildings.
Lerwick Community Council objected primarily on fire risk grounds, whilst campaign groups Sustainable Shetland and Save Shetland also wrote letters of objections.
However, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service offered no objections or comment.
An indicative construction timeline shows that enabling works could get underway at the end of April, with civils following through to October.
It is then anticipated that battery units would begin to be transported to the site a short distance by road from Lerwick Harbour.
No abnormal load deliveries would be required, as all equipment can be delivered to the site by HGVs.
Two battery units can be delivered by one HGV, so Zenobe expects there to be a total of 120 deliveries.
The management plan said traffic during the operational phase will be minimal, “limited to occasional visits for maintenance, servicing, and security checks”.
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A spokesperson from SSEN Distribution said the stand-by project should be energised in the first half of 2026.
“Our proposals for the Shetland Enduring Solution received Ofgem approval at the end of last year; this will see the development of a new Battery Energy Solution (BESS), with fault ride-through blackout avoidance, constructed adjacent to our Grid Supply Point (GSP) at Gremista, with Lerwick Power Station used as standby generation,” they said.
“We expect the standby solution to be energised in the first half of 2026; this follows connection to the transmission grid and a full testing and commissioning process.
“Until that point, Lerwick Power Station will continue to deliver a safe, secure, and reliable supply of power to homes and businesses across Shetland.”
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