Scottish Water has completed its first large-scale battery storage project in its push to achieve net zero by 2040.

Part of a £2 million renewables project that will also see the construction of its largest solar array, the four vanadium flow batteries can store up to 0.8MWh of energy and have an output of 1MW.

The batteries have been installed at its wastewater treatment plant in Perth and can store solar energy at any time, allowing 94% of the renewable power generated to be used onsite.

The move is estimated to cut around 160 tonnes of carbon emissions each year from the facility’s operations and will also power its first rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging points that will be built onsite.

Donald MacBrayne from Scottish Water said: “We’re excited to have our first battery facility up and running to help reduce emissions and tackle climate change.

“The ability to maximise green energy production as well as store and release this energy when we need it is a vital part of our journey to net zero.”