A bid has been made to create a new battery storage facility in Cumbria – which would produce enough energy to power 160,000 homes.
Net Zero Seventeen has applied for planning permission to build the facility on land in Aspatria – with a shelf life of 40 years.
If Cumberland Council gives it the go-ahead, the 7.4 hectare site, on land at West Farm, West Street, would be home to 56 units – each 7.8m long, 1.7m wide and 2.8m tall.
A battery storage compound consists of batteries that can store energy and are able to release or absorb energy from the power network.
They would help balance out demand on the National Grid.
When there is not enough power, during periods of high demand, batteries are discharged to balance under frequency preventing black and brown outs. To balance over frequency batteries are charged to store electricity which is not required at the time of generation.
The developers said: “The proposed development would comprise a form of carbon zero energy storage to balance energy supply to the National Grid. Its grid balancing mechanism specifically forms part of the renewable energy infrastructure being developed to meet the UK’s obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive.
“It would facilitate the storage of electrical energy to power approximately 161,897 homes for two hours. This equates to 129% of the total households
within Cumberland.”
The development would be closest to the Victorian property Castlemont and around 400m away from the town of Aspatria.
As well as the battery storage, the scheme would include two five metre acoustic fences on the eastern edge to ensure suitable noise levels and the remaining part of the site which does not comprise the battery compound, will be used for landscape or left as managed grassland.
The developer added: “There will be gaps between the individual battery units and ancillary equipment, and between the development compound and existing field boundaries. Therefore, the area of land impacted by the development would be much smaller than the application site area.”
Security fencing and CCTV would also be installed.
It added: “The facility will generally be unmanned, although would be subject to periodic maintenance visits, typically carried out by a work team arriving in a van or similar type vehicle.
“The only permanent lighting on site will be motion activated security lighting, enabling the security company to have a visual at night, if activated by motion. Any installed lighting will be downwards facing to limit any light emittance when lit.
“At other times, task lighting or emergency lighting – low in luminance – will only be necessary when an engineer is in attendance.”
The application added that after 40 years of operation, it was proposed that within 12 months of it ceasing to store/supply power to the grid, the development would be decommissioned, and equipment removed from the site.
