RES has submitted a planning application to South Ayrshire Council for a 49.9MW energy storage proposal on land north east of Holmston roundabout, near Ayr.
If consented, Holmston Farm could help create a more stable electricity system, as well as supporting the increased deployment of renewable energy.
RES, a British company with a history of similar developments in Scotland, also argued that the site offers biodiversity enhancement opportunities through the planting of native trees, grassland and scrub areas.
Development project manager Jenna Folkard commented: “As we shift to low-cost renewables it’s important that we rapidly advance more energy storage capacity on our grid to support a more flexible system.
“Increasing the installed capacity of energy storage is essential to enabling and accelerating the rollout of zero carbon energy to support the UK’s net-zero emissions target by 2050, and if consented, Holmston Farm will play an integral part in allowing us to achieve this.”
RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company, active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, green hydrogen, energy storage and transmission and distribution.
Over the last 40 years, it has delivered more than 23GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 10GW worldwide for a large client base. The company employs more than 2,500 people and is active in 11 countries.
Separately, Aberdeen start-up CCU International has been awarded a six-figure contract to supply its patented carbon capture and refinement system to Flue2Chem - a consortium led by Unilever and SCI.
A collaboration of 15 businesses, universities and non-governmental organisations are behind the two-year project, which has received £2.68m in grant funding from Innovate UK, via the UK Research and Innovation Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge.
These partners are using Flue2Chem to demonstrate how the UK could cut 15 to 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
CCU International launched its carbon capture and refinement system last year, as part of a spin-out from the University of Sheffield.
Developed by Professor Peter Styring at the university - and an advisor to CCU - the system captures mixed gas emissions directly from flue stacks and passes them through a multiple-step process involving unique pressure swing adsorption to capture and refine the CO2 ready for utilisation. This can then be used to create different products, including aggregates for construction, commodity chemicals and more sustainable aviation fuels.
Following the launch of its funding round in November, CCU will now start manufacturing its technology.
The Flue2Chem contract will see the production of a one-tonne-a-day capture system, which will form part of a wider process to turn industrial waste gases into an alternative source of carbon that will then be used to create UK consumer products.
Beena Sharma, chief executive at CCU International, said: “This marks a huge milestone, where we can start manufacturing our systems - taking them from demonstration systems to final products.
“To my knowledge, the Flue2Chem collaboration is the first of its kind and many eyes will be watching.
“It reinforces the commitment these companies have to innovation - and to net zero - they will benefit from having a more sustainable production process that removes the reliance on fossil fuels, and it is hoped more industries will follow suit.“
CCU International was formed in August 2022 and aims to generate over £1bn in its first 10 years of trading.
Since launching its funding round last year, the company has gained interest from many industries including shipping and petrochemicals. Over the next three years, it aims to roll out the carbon capture system and utilisation solutions to other industries in the UK, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
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