Lochaber hydropower plant balancing mechanism

Lochaber hydropower plant balancing mechanism

This year, the Chairman’s Global Excellence Awards crowned the team at the Lochaber hydro-electric plant and aluminium smelter as winner in the CN30 category, thanks to their innovative solution to reducing CO2 in their operations. 

Working closely with business energy supplier Marble Power, the Lochaber team successfully entered Lochaber’s hydro plant in the UK’s balancing mechanism, resulting in a first-year cost saving of around £2m and a reduction in the average CO2 content of grid power absorbed by the plant. 

The new operating model works by anticipating periods when the Scottish grid over-produces wind power and bids to absorb power, reducing National Grid’s need to pay wind owners to curtail generation. In this way, the site is paid to absorb power and retains water in Loch Treig. That water can then be released later, allowing the site to either avoid importing more expensive power or earning extra income by exporting to grid.  

Before this innovation, the Lochaber site had to use a combination of grid and hydropower through the summer months. Now, it is much less reliant on grid power through the summer, making it more resilient to changes in grid pricing and reducing the average CO2 content in the power used by the plant.  

 

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