The proposed 99.9MW Glyn Rhonwy pumped storage scheme in Wales, UK, has taken a major step forward with news that it has been granted a development consent order by energy secretary Greg Clark.

Construction of the first grid-scale electricity storage facility to be built in the UK for more than 30 years could begin as early as 2018 following the approval, developer Snowdonia Pumped Hydro (SPH) has said.

The project, which would cost £160m million, involves turning two abandoned slate quarries at Glyn Rhonwy near Llanberis in North Wales into water reservoirs that will store some 700MWh of electricity.

The three- to four-year-long construction of the facility is expected to create a substantial regional economic uplift with hundreds of construction workers needing to be housed and fed locally. When operational, the site will support up to 30 skilled full-time jobs, along with work for regional contractors and suppliers, all of which will last for the lifetime of the facility of 125 years or more.

SPH was created by Quarry Battery Company (QBC) to take the Glyn Rhonwy scheme forward to construction and operation. The scheme was designed in consultation with Gwynedd Council, Cadw, Countryside Council for Wales, Natural Resources Wales and AECOM.