The site will combine 15MW each of solar and BESS with a wind development. Image: ScottishPower Renewables.

ScottishPower Renewables has received full planning permission for its Hollandmey energy project, which is set to combine solar, energy storage, and wind energy on one site in Caithness, Scotland.

The project, which will be sited just eight kilometres south of John o’ Groats, will host ten wind turbines with a total capacity of 50MW, plus a 15MW solar development and a 15MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

In order to provide biodiversity benefits to the area, the developers will restore 168 hectares of peatland habitat to its original state, providing habitats for many local species of plants and animals. Additionally, ScottishPower is launching a Community Benefit Fund, which will provide £50,000 of funding to develop the electric vehicle network in the Scottish Highlands.

Gillian Noble, managing director, onshore origination and development at ScottishPower Renewables said: “We’ve received consent for our Hollandmey project—in building onshore wind, solar, and battery together, we can maximise the electricity we are able to generate at the site and deliver to homes and businesses across the UK.”

The sun is shining on the Highlands

While Scotland’s solar sector is dwarfed by its immense wind power capacity, several recent planning approvals in the storage arena are making Scotland a hotspot for BESS developments.

Apatura recently secured planning consent for a 700MW BESS development in Inverclyde, set to be Scotland’s largest standalone BESS, while XRE Gamma and Scala Renewables Group were able to overcome local opposition and secure planning consent for their 49.9MW development near Kintore.

Meanwhile, Kona Energy had a huge win earlier this month as the Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit granted permission for its 228MW/456MWh Smeaton BESS in East Lothian.

There have been some attempts to invigorate Scotland’s solar sector by developers and trade groups; Solar Energy Scotland recently published a statement attempting to bust the myth of solar farms as a threat to food security. Greencat Renewables is also hoping to kickstart the UK’s slow-moving floating solar sector, having submitted early planning documents for a proposed development at Cavendish Dock at the Port of Barrow.

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