Construction shortly underway on battery system in Gremista
Construction is set to begin in Gremista for a battery system which will eventually allow Shetland to plug into energy from the wider transmission network, SSE announced today (Wednesday).
Once the battery energy storage system is complete, the isles' diesel-fuelled power station will also wind down into stand-by mode.
SSE now expect to finish the work in the second half of 2026 — the latest in a string of postponements. As recently as November SSE told The Shetland Times they expected the standby system to be energised in the first half of 2026.
The battery system is intended to provide emergency power should the mainland cable fail.
Once complete, the system is designed to provide enough energy to supply homes and businesses through the first half-hour of a blackout — long enough for Lerwick Power Station to kick back into gear.
Construction will begin on the foundations for the batteries once workers' facilities have been set up on site. Equipment is now arriving to do that.
"When finished, the Shetland Standby Project will provide a long-term standby solution that will be a crucial part of securing the islands’ energy supply," SSE said.
Lerwick Power station is currently the third largest industrial source of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in Shetland, according to the Scottish government's Pollutant Release Inventory.
On standby mode, SSE say the station will drop from more than 70,000 tonnes of CO2 to 5,500 annually — a cut of more than 15 per cent of Shetland's total industrial carbon emissions.
The power station also emits other pollutants which have been linked to public health risks. In 2023 it produced more nitrogen oxides and small particulate matter than Sullom Voe Terminal, the largest source of greenhouse emissions.
Note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Lerwick Power station was the largest single industrial source of carbon emissions.