John Swinney hails plan to build ‘world’s largest liquid air energy site’ in Scotland

The SNP leader welcomed executives with Highview Power to Scotland House in London on Monday as they laid out plans to develop a 2.5GWh liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant at Hunterston.

An LAES system uses air to store energy. When there is an excess, it cools air into a liquid and stores it. Then, when there is demand, that liquid can be warmed up, spinning turbines and creating electricity as needed.

Highview said that its Hunterston site will deliver five times Scotland’s current operational battery storage capacity and “is strategically placed in the grid transmission network to maximise the use of Scottish-produced renewable electricity”.

(Image: Highview Power) After meeting with the firm’s executives, Swinney said: “The creation of the largest liquid air energy facility in the world, in Ayrshire, demonstrates just how valuable Scotland is in delivering a low carbon future as well as supporting the global transition to net zero.

“Scotland presents a unique environment for innovation and deployment of storage technologies and this ground-breaking project will bring hundreds of high skilled jobs to the region both during construction and afterwards in supporting the supply chain.”

Highview said that the Hunterston project will support 1000 jobs onsite during construction and 650 jobs in the supply chain.

Richard Butland, the firm’s chief executive, said: “We were delighted to meet the First Minister today, and thrilled to announce our next project in Hunterston, the first of four, which kick starts our multi-billion-pound LDES [long duration energy storage] programme across the UK to unlock 10GWh of LDES.”

READ MORE: Scotland’s unemployment rate now below UK-wide figure, new data shows

“This project will be transformational for Scotland in providing critical storage for offshore wind and solving grid constraints as well as delivering major investment in Ayrshire, and the wider region.”

Highview Power said its programme of four will also include a project in Aberdeenshire, “strategically positioned to support the onshoring of renewable energy resources from the North Sea and the critical need for grid stability at this location”.

The firm is expected to publish more details of that second Scottish project in the coming months.

Chris O’Shea, group chief executive at Centrica, said: “It is fantastic to see our partners at Highview Power expanding with their new project at Hunterston.

“LDES will be vital to unlocking the UK’s energy potential, and Highview’s technology will be a key part of that. With innovation and investment, the UK will achieve its ambitious net zero goals.”