A roundup of BESS development planning consent news in the Great Britain (GB) market this week, from the pages of our sister site Solar Power Portal.
The UK has 8GWh of large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity online, nearly 20GWh being built and now over 100GWh with planning permission, as reported recently by Energy-Storage.news with data from our Solar Media Market Research colleagues (Premium access). And that figure continues to grow, evidenced by a flurry of announcements this past week.
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Authorities grant Apatura permission for 150MW Scottish BESS
BESS developer Apatura has secured planning consent for a 150MW BESS in Scotland.
The Neilston BESS will be located in Paisley, Renfrewshire, around 17 miles south-west of Glasgow. Renfrewshire Council approved the decision with no objections, following a close working relationship between Apatura, Scotland’s Energy Consents Unit and Renfrewshire Council.
With this approval, Apatura now has 1GW of approved or operational BESS capacity, as well as having Scotland’s largest energy storage pipeline at over 10GW.
Firstway lands consent for combined 400MW of BESS
BESS developer Firstway Energy has secured planning consent for three BESS developments across England.
The three projects, which combined have a capacity of 400MW, are located in the West Midlands, Lincolnshire, and Cheshire regions of England, and each have a capacity of either 100MW or 200MW.
The Bicker Drove project, a 100MW proposal in Boston, Lincolnshire, will sit on 13.5 hecatres of land. Following the submission of a planning application in September 2024. Boston Borough Council has granted full approval for the project for a 40 year lifespan, after which time the land will be returned to its original agricultural use.
Planning permission was submitted to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council for the 100MW Iley Lane BESS in August of 2023. The development, which will be located on 5.2 hectares of land in Halesowen, Dudley, will feed directly into the nearby Kitwell substation. While the date for the start of construction has not yet been revealed, Firstway Energy has already secured a firm grid connection date of October 2026.
The largest of the projects, the 200MW Mill Hey development, will be located in Capenhurst, Cheshire, and connect directly into the nearby Capenhurst substation. Firstway Energy announced that it had applied for planning consent for the project, set to be located on a 6.2 hectare site in July of last year.
Root-Power 34MW Scottish Highlands BESS greenlit
Root-Power has received planning permission for a 34MW/68MWh BESS to be constructed in the Scottish Highlands.
The developer, the BESS-specialised offshoot of independent power producer (IPP) YLEM Energy, selected the Dounreay site on the North coast of Scotland to provide support to an isolated part of the UK’s energy infrastructure. The site has a 2026 connection date and once energised, it will serve North Scotland and the Orkney Islands.
The 34MW project will use existing network infrastructure in an area that is already undergoing reinforcement projects to accommodate the increasing demand for energy and the growth of renewables onshore and offshore in the region.
The consent is the second Root-Power received so far this year, with a 40MW/80MWh BESS in Selby, North Yorkshire, getting planning permission in January.
Renewable Connections gets planning consent for 90MW Somerset BESS
Developer Renewable Connections is celebrating a major win as its latest consented energy project brings it over the 1GW mark.
Earlier this week (10 February), Renewable Connections received planning consent for a new BESS project, the 90MW Drove Battery Energy Storage System in Somerset, bringing the company over 1GW of consented projects. The Drove project, set to be located on 1.7 acres of land near Bridgwater, has been in the planning system since late 2023, and the approval of the project marks the 24th consent that the firm has received since 2021.
Exagen granted planning consent for 34MWp solar and 75MW BESS project
UK renewable energy developer Exagen has been awarded planning permission for a co-located solar energy and BESS project in the West Midlands.
Following a successful appeal process, the Planning Inspectorate has granted Exagen full planning permission for the Holly Lane Energy Park, marking the company’s first planning approval of this year.
The development, located near Solihull, West Midlands, will consist of a 34MWp solar PV power plant, with a 75MW BESS located on a separate parcel of land divided by a public highway. A new substation will be built and located adjacent to the BESS, which will connect into the nearby 132kV overhead line. The solar portion of the project will connect to the new substation via a buried cable which follows the public highway between the two plots of land.
While a construction start date has not yet been announced, the project has already had an accelerated grid connection date approved and will connect to the grid in 2027.
In January 2024, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council made a commitment to have 430MW of renewable energy generation in the council’s area by 2041, of which 10.6MW is currently installed. According to Exagen, the Holly Lane solar PV power plant will contribute 6% of the capacity needed to help the council meet its target.
See the full, original versions of the five articles on Solar Power Portal below:
Authorities grant Apatura permission for 150MW Scottish BESS, crossing 1GW milestone
Firstway lands consent for combined 400MW of BESS
Root-Power 34MW Scottish Highlands BESS greenlit
Renewable Connections gets planning consent for 90MW Somerset BESS
Exagen granted planning consent for 34MWp solar and 75MW BESS project
