Generator Drax has announced that it will not offer its Crachan II Pomped Hydro Energy Storage (Phes) project in the support mechanism for Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES).
The British government recently launched the first window of its long-term energy storage and floor schedule for long-term energy storage to endorse income and to reduce the risk of investors for projects between 2030 and 2033, with applications that must be offered on 9 June 2025.
Drax said it would not participate in this first phase of the CAP and floating schedule with the 600 MW Crachan II project, an extension of the existing 440 MW Crachan Pumped Storage -Factory, saying that the costs have risen, while ‘repairability of capital’ is unclear. The company completed the first design and engineering work to an option to extend it last year.
‘The expected costs of Cruachan II have risen over the past two years, while at the same time the repairability of all capital invested in the project remains unclear. That is why DRAX will not participate in this first phase of the CAP and floating schedule, but will retain the option for possible future development, depending on a suitable balance between risk and return, “said it in a trade update.
The company is of the opinion that the project is tailored to the long -term needs in the UK for flexible generation and energy storage and the location in Scotland is ideal considering the cross -border limitations, with a lot of wind generation in and around Scotland, but large demand centers are south of the border. The company applied for the first time to expand Cruachan in 2022.
The decision to remove Cruachan from the schedule is interesting in view of the fact that a collection of the owner operators of the British battery storage system for batteries of the battery (BESS) recently indicated their opposition against the LDES-DOP and floor in an open letter and says that it is favored for pumped storage. Cruachan II is one of the most controversial pumped storage projects that are expected to offer.
This article was Originally published on News for energy storage, where readers can also find An interview with one of the signatories of the letter, James Bas van Zenobe (Premium Access).
