Foresight backs Gilkes Energy's 1.8GW Earba pumped-hydro project in Scotland
What's the deal? Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners IIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has made a strategic investment in Gilkes EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, backing the developer's 1.8GW Earba pumped-storage hydro scheme in the Scottish Highlands. The deal, announced in October 2026, pairs one of the UK's leading independent hydro developers with a dedicated energy-infrastructure fund.
What's the endgame? Gilkes describes Earba — which would use Lochan na h-Earba as its lower reservoir — as the largest project of its kind in the UK, with 40,000MWh of storage capacity. The scheme has already secured planning consent and completed ground investigation works, including boreholes and geophysics.
Why now? The backing follows a wider UK push to make long-duration storage financeable. In June 2026, Ofgem provisionally selected 16 projects totalling 7.6GW for support under its new cap-and-floor regime; Earba was among them, alongside proposals from SSEDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and StateraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What could go wrong? The Ofgem backing is provisional, with final decisions still pending. Pumped hydro requires heavy upfront capital and long build timelines, and no UK scheme has come onstream in roughly 30 years.
The signal: The cap-and-floor regime aims to cut investment risk by guaranteeing revenue, turning consented schemes into deliverable infrastructure. Foresight's move signals that private capital is starting to flow where policy is clearing the path — though financing and execution remain the sector's main hurdles.
Read more: pfie.com
Image credit: ohefin
