Battery storage site proposed for Moorlands
The facility will provide power to the local distribution network Sirius apply to develop adjacent to Cellarhead Substation
Planning statement
A NEW Battery Energy Storage System and associated infrastructure and equipment has been proposed in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
Sirius Renewable Energy Limited have submitted a planning application to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for the development on land adjacent to Cellarhead Substation, Rownall Road, Wetley Rocks.
A planning, design and access statement, submitted with the application, has been prepared by Sirius Planning on behalf of Sirius Renewable Energy, in support of the planning application.
The statement said: “Sirius Renewable Energy Limited seeks to support the increase in renewable energy generation and its transition to a lower carbon energy supply system through developing a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on land directly opposite to the existing Cellarhead substation.
“The site comprises an area of relatively flat agricultural fields totalling 5.4Ha immediately to the east of and adjacent to the Western Power Distribution and National Grid Cellarhead Sub-station which itself extends to 10Ha. Additional off-land is to be utilised to the south west to deliver biodiversity gains.
“Cellarhead substation was initially commissioned in 1963. The ownership of the 132kv elements of the substation is shared between National Grid and Western Power Distribution.”
The proposed development would comprise:
112 Battery container units;
112 inverters and 56 transformers arranged in a ‘U’ formation located adjacent to each container; ■ Developer and Distribution Network Operator (DNO) substation compound and associated cabins including a switchgear/meter room;
■ Two spare storage cabins;
■ Underground cable to the point of connection with the local distribution network;
■ Perimeter fencing 2.4 metres high and inward facing infra-red CCTV; and
■ Internal service road and vehicle turning area.
The statement added: “The proposed development is for the installation and operation of a battery storage facility with capacity to store and export up to 280MVA of electricity to the local distribution network for up to two hours. The facility will provide balancing services to National Grid to ensure the future security of the country’s electricity supply. The facility will provide power to the local distribution network in a short space
of time when demand is greater than available supply.
“The batteries will operate whenever called upon by the National Grid. But as electrical demand is greatest in the morning and early evening this is when the facility is most likely to be delivering power to the grid.
“The site will be accessed via the existing Cellarhead Substation access road which runs to the south of the site. It is proposed to construct a new access to the application site from the substation road to the south of the main body of the site
“The proposed access will allow for the majority of vehicles associated with the construction and maintenance phases to avoid passing and potentially impacting the few farmsteads and residential receptors to the east of the application site.”
A decision is expected by planners within the next 12 weeks.