Galileo Empower’s Middlerigg Battery Storage Plan Secures West Lothian Approval

• West Lothian Council clears Galileo Empower to build a 49.9 MW battery at Middlerigg Farm, boosting Scotland’s grid flexibility and cutting future CO₂ emissions.

Galileo Empower, a joint venture between Dublin-headquartered Empower Renewables and pan-European developer Galileo Green Energy, has won the green light for a 49.9-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) at Middlerigg Farm, West Lothian. The project received unanimous backing from the council’s Development Management Committee, clearing the way for construction to begin early next year.

Set on farmland between Bathgate and Armadale, beside the A801 and less than a kilometre from the Bathgate substation, the facility will soak up surplus wind and solar power when demand is low and dispatch it in real time during peak periods. Galileo Empower estimates the plant could shave more than 90,000 tonnes of CO₂ from Scotland’s power mix over its first decade of operation by reducing fossil-fuel peaker use.

Project manager Laura Petrie said the decision “demonstrates West Lothian’s appetite for smart grid infrastructure that keeps clean electricity flowing, even when the wind drops.” Civil works are expected to create around 80 local jobs, while long-term operations will be handled by a six-person team supported by remote diagnostics from Galileo Empower’s Edinburgh control centre.

The battery array, housed in 28 containerised units, will connect through a new 33-kV feeder line to the existing substation. Once live in 2027, Middlerigg will be capable of delivering up to two hours of full-output discharge, equivalent to powering roughly 100,000 Scottish homes for an evening peak. The design also includes biodiversity measures such as native hedgerows, pollinator habitats and discreet wildlife corridors to soften its visual footprint.

Councillor Kirsteen Swan, chair of the planning committee, called the scheme “a strategic piece of Scotland’s net-zero jigsaw,” noting that battery storage now qualifies for fast-track consent under the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4. Industry analysts say more than 4 GW of BESS capacity is now in the Scottish pipeline, reflecting rapid growth in offshore wind and the need for flexible assets to stabilise the network.

Galileo Empower has a wider target of 10 GW of renewable and storage projects across northern Europe by 2030, with additional Scottish sites under review.