Alder King, acting on behalf of Grid Battery Storage Ltd, has secured its first planning consent for a battery storage scheme which will be used to support power generation in the UK. The planning consent gives permission for a new facility housing 10MW of batteries on a 0.13 hectare site at Rownhams, a village just outside Southampton, Hampshire.
The facility will comprise four storage containers and support infrastructure, situated on the edge of an existing storage yard enclosed by trees and woodland.
The local Parish Council commented that the proposal is “environmentally friendly, cost effective and small scale, whilst efficient”. The Planning Officer concluded that “there is considered to be an overriding need for the development to be located in the countryside area and is therefore acceptable in principle … and compliant with relevant policies…”
Granting of consent for battery storage use represents a first for Alder King, and is one of only a handful in the UK. The concept of battery storage to support power generation is new to the UK and responds to a nationwide demand for decentralised, responsive power generation.
Batteries are charged when there is a surplus of generation from other sources and then discharged at times of peak demand, reducing reliance on overseas sources including France and Ireland, and supporting renewable energy. Continued advances in battery technology now mean that schemes of this type are a commercially viable reality, and will become commonplace in the next few years.
Dale Evans, planning partner at Alder King, commented: “The ability to deploy our extensive experience in working for energy scheme developers to secure this first permission is a very positive step forward and will hopefully be the first of many more schemes becoming a reality for our clients. We were delighted to see parish council and case officer support for this new technology and are really pleased to be able to contribute to a stable domestic-based energy supply for the UK.”
Alder King is retained to provide planning consultancy and site finding expertise by some of the leading developers of battery storage schemes in the UK. The nationwide search for similar sites is ongoing with a significant pipeline of sites already secured and progressing through the planning system.
Landlords with suitable sites can benefit from a 25 year income stream of up to £50,000 per year in return for making available a site of 0.25 acres for the construction of a battery storage facility.
