Located near Llanberis, the £160m Glyn Rhonwy facility is intended to generate approximately 100MW of electricity using pumped hydro technology.
During low electricity demand, the facility will pump water to a reservoir on the upper slope of Cefn-Du and at times of high electricity demand, the stored water will be released back through turbines to a lower reservoir in order to re-generate the electricity.
Expected to play an important role in balancing supply and demand on the UK’s electricity grid, the 600MWh facility is planned to enter service by 2019.
With an operational age of 125 years, the project will support hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and 30 full-time jobs upon completion.
Annual payments of approximately £600,000 a year will be secured by Gwynedd Council while an independent trust will manage community contributions from the facility, including an initial grant of £325,000 and annual payments of £15,000.
The scheme will support the government’s aim to facilitate more energy generation from renewable sources while mitigating energy loss caused by insufficient storage capacity.
SPH parent organisation Quarry Battery Company chairman Peter Taylor said: "By continuing to utilise unconventional sites such as the abandoned quarry on The Crown Estate’s land, Britain can realise an additional 15 GW of grid-scale storage using pumped hydro technology alone.
"This agreement is an important first step in Britain meeting its storage needs."
