Scotland: investor Foresight backs 1.8 GW Earba pumped storage project
The Highlands project is to store 40 GWh and deliver full power for 22 hours. It is the largest in regulator Ofgem's provisional funding decision.
Photo: Alan Reid / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Infrastructure fund Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II (FEIP II) has invested in Gilkes Energy's Earba pumped storage hydro project in the Scottish Highlands. The plant is rated at 1.8 GW with 40 GWh of storage and can export at full power for 22 hours.
On average, it could supply electricity to more than 1.4 million UK homes. The funding will go towards detailed engineering, procurement, site investigations and construction preparation.
Regulator Ofgem included Earba earlier this year in its provisional decision for the UK's long-duration electricity storage support scheme. It is the largest pumped storage project in that decision by both capacity and stored energy. Final decisions are expected in autumn 2026. Foresight's Ben Field called Earba “one of the UK's most strategically important long duration energy storage projects”.