Zenobe Plans 68-MW Shetland Battery to Safeguard Island Energy Security

• Zenobe will invest £60 m to build a 68-MW battery in Lerwick, giving Shetland instant backup power, cutting diesel use and boosting renewables by 2026.

UK storage specialist Zenobe Energy has unveiled detailed plans for a 68-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) on an industrial site outside Lerwick, Shetland’s main town. Backed by about £60 million of non-recourse project-finance debt arranged with NatWest, Lloyds and Siemens Financial Services, the project will be the largest standalone battery ever built on Scotland’s islands and one of the biggest off-grid assets in Europe.

The installation—dubbed the Shetland Standby Project—is designed to keep electricity flowing to the archipelago’s 23,000 residents whenever the new 600-MW HVDC cable linking Shetland to the mainland is unavailable. In such situations the battery will “ride through” faults for several minutes, giving Lerwick’s ageing diesel-fired power station time to start up from standby and take over, thereby slashing routine fuel burn and associated emissions.

Technically, the system goes beyond conventional storage. Zenobe will pair grid-forming inverters with an AC chopper—a first for a UK battery deployment—to absorb excess wind power and stabilise frequency on an island grid that already hosts more than 450 MW of wind capacity. Construction crews began foundation work this week, and the company expects the plant to enter commercial operation in the second half of 2026 after roughly 12 months on site.

Project financing is structured on a non-recourse, 15-year term aligned with a long-term services contract awarded by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) following a regulated tender. The arrangement provides predictable cash flows while insulating Zenobe’s balance sheet—an approach the company previously used on its Blackhillock, Kilmarnock South and Eccles batteries on the Scottish mainland.

With Shetland in hand, Zenobe’s Scottish portfolio tops 1.2 GW of capacity either operating or under construction, reinforcing the firm’s leadership in Britain’s fast-growing long-duration storage market. Analysts say the Lerwick plant will serve as a test case for other islands and remote grids seeking to phase out diesel while maintaining rock-solid reliability.