Coalburn 1 is a 500MW battery energy storage project being developed in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, the UK.
The project is developed by fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and UK-based energy storage project developer Alcemi.
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In December 2023, the developers received the planning permission to build the facility.
This was followed by the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project in December 2023. It would entail an investment of around £400m.
The construction of Coalburn 1 commenced in November 2023 and will take approximately around 24 months to complete. Commercial operations are expected to start in late 2025.
Once operational, the facility will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe and offset approximately 1.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over 35 years.
Coalburn 1 Location
The Coalburn 1 Project is being developed east of Coalburn village around 20km south of Motherwell town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland. It is nearly 1.4km southeast of the existing Coalburn substation.
The battery energy storage project will cover approximately 16.4 hectares (ha) of land to the west of the M74 motorway.
The site is predominantly on agricultural land within the South Lanarkshire Council administrative area.
Coalburn 1 Project Details
The Coalburn 1 facility will have a storage capacity of 2-hour 500MW 1,000MWh. The energy storage system will supply renewable power during peak demand hours.
The development will include battery storage containers; inverter/transformer stations; switchgear containers; LV and HV transformers; and underground cables to connect the site to Coalburn Substation.
The project work will also include security fencing; installation of CCTV cameras and security lighting; and building vehicular access from Carlisle Road; along with other biodiversity enhancements.
A maximum of five platforms or steel framed rectangular buildings will be required to support the energy storage infrastructure. Each platform will cover an area of around 6,000m2.
On the ground floor, the platforms will accommodate batteries with rated electrical output of approximately 100MW per building.
Inverters, transformers and metering equipment will be housed on the first floor of the buildings. They will also have control rooms, welfare facilities and a cooling plant.
Each building will have an external transformer to increase the electrical output from 33kV to 400kV; and external electricity switchgear.
The facility is also being developed with extensive landscaping and ecological mitigation measures. This includes maintenance of peat reserves, tree and wildflower planting, and promoting biodiversity across the site.
Coalburn 1 will have an operational life of 35 years.
Power Transmission
The project site will house external switchgear and step-up transformers adjacent to the development platforms.
The step-up transformers will convert the output power to 400kV and export it to the National Grid. The high voltage (400kV) components of the project will be secured and enclosed by fencing.
Scottish Power Transmission Connections offered a grid connection to the developers of the project. The offer will connect the project and the existing Coalburn substation.
The substation and the project site will be connected via an underground cable.
Contractors Involved
RPS Group was selected by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Alcemi as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultant for the Coalburn 1 Project.
In December 2023, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners awarded a supply and integration contract for the project to e-STORAGE, a majority-owned subsidiary of CSI Solar.
Under the contract, e-STORAGE will deliver its SolBank battery energy storage systems. It will also be responsible for full integration, commissioning, and long-term operational services for the project.
SolBank is a self-manufactured battery designed for utility-scale applications. It is based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry.
The battery consists of LFP cells, multi-level fire safety management systems, liquid cooling systems, a monitoring system, a control system, and an active cell balancing system.
The optimisation services for the project will be provided by SSE Energy Markets, while H&MV Engineering was selected to deliver services related to plant works.
An independent UK law firm, Burges Salmon, advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Alcemi on the construction, operation, and optimisation contracts for the project.
