ILI Group is working towards a 1GW portfolio of battery storage and around 2GW of pumped hydro, including a project for Loch Ness (pictured). Image: Wikimedia user Ben Buxton.
Planning consent has been granted for a 50MW battery energy storage project in Aberdeenshire for developer Intelligent Land Investments Group (ILI Group).
ILI said in a press release sent to Solar Power Portal that Aberdeenshire Council Garioch Area planning committee approved its proposed project at Fordham Farm in the Aberdeenshire town of Kintore, today.
The company began in residential property development before diversifying into clean energy projects, spending several years brokering land deals for wind farms. ILI said that it is planning a 1GW portfolio of battery storage in total, while CEO Mark Wilson said it has 250MW of battery storage already consented, as well as 300MW in planning and 500MW still at pre-planning stages.
ILI Group is also behind plans to develop a large-scale pumped hydro storage plant at Loch Ness, called “Red John”. According to the company, the Red John project would be 450MW, built at the historic site. ILI is also hoping to develop further pumped hydro plants to a total of 2GW or more.
“We have a comprehensive energy storage plan for Scotland with both ‘long-term’ energy storage which can supply energy to the grid for a number of hours at a time, like our ‘Red John’ pump storage plant at Loch Ness, and ‘short term’ energy storage which can supply energy for minutes at a time like our project here at Kintore,” Wilson said.
“Together projects like these will supply the much-needed storage and balancing services to the grid network helping energy security and enabling the next generation of renewables to proceed, ensuring Scotland can reach its net zero targets”.