The new Labour Government has made clear its support for renewable energy generation projects, but the logistical challenge of making these projects a reality is eye-watering.

The effects of disturbance and disruption arising from electricity network reinforcement is well publicised, with communities reacting strongly against negative visual impact, loss of amenity potential property value reduction.

At a recent conference hosted by the British Hydropower Association, an energy industry group, the new Secretary of State for Scotland gave a very positive speech supporting the need for pumped storage hydro, and indicated that news about proposed incentivisation measures would be announced soon.

At present there are approximately 20 large-scale pumped storage hydro schemes being promoted in Scotland, representing many hundreds of GW of potential generation, all located in remote locations.

Even if only a handful of these schemes are developed, the impact on remote and fragile communities is likely to be enormous, as development on this scale has not been experienced for over half a century since the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NSHEB) delivered the post-war boom in hydro infrastructure.

 The logistics of delivering a single project are enormous, with thousands of workers to be accommodated, and plant and materials delivered to remote locations via inadequate roads infrastructure. If this is multiplied by even a small number, the scale of the undertaking is breathtaking.

Of course, we’ve been here before.

NSHEB delivered tens of projects in the post-war period, but those were different times, when most remote communities were without electricity and the benefits were tangible to those impacted by the upheaval.

Today, this infrastructure is required to balance a grid serving the nation as a whole and it is likely there will be limited local benefit in comparison with the level of disturbance suffered.

The need for energy storage to balance a grid reliant on intermittent renewable generation is understood, and pumped storage hydro might be considered to have many advantages over battery storage requiring lithium.

But delivery of these projects will be reliant on a global supply chain and the question remains whether that can be delivered whilst leaving a positive legacy.  

*Read the latest news and views from our experts in our Autumn/Winter edition of Energy Matters.