Plans revealed for battery energy storage facility bigger than a football pitch on green belt land near Pontefract
A planning application for a battery storage energy facility near Pontefract has been submitted to Wakefield Council
The proposed site for the development is at Cookland Farm in Old Snydale and is just under a hectare in size.
The applicant Lanpro Service is a part of YLEM Energy group, a UK-based energy firm that has installed more than 400 MWs of power generation and energy storage, which it says is. enough to power one million homes.
A design and access statement provided on behalf of the firm notes that the proposed development does not fall within national planning policy framework exemptions for green belt development.
But it says that exceptions can be made in special circumstances that “may include the wider environmental benefits associated with increased production of energy from renewable sources”.
The statement says: “There is a recognised need and support for renewable energy technology within development plan policy, national planning policy and national and local policy guidance.
"This development would contribute towards the targets set for the UK’s greenhouse gas emission reduction and increasing the country’s energy supply from renewable sources.”
It said any harm to the green belt would be “limited and temporary in nature” and was “clearly outweighed by the pressing need for renewable energy infrastructure and technology”.
The company, via its design and access statement, said the proposed development would be temporary in its nature and half a lifespan of 40 years.
It added: “It should also be borne in mind that Wakefield Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019, and the council pledged to become a carbon neutral council by 2020.
"It has also stated an aim for the entire district to achieve this goal by 2038.”
The facility would then be decommissioned at the end of its life and removed from the site with the land use reverting to agricultural use.
The National Grid says battery storage technologies are essential to speed up the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy.
It said: “Battery storage systems will play an increasingly pivotal role between green energy supplies and responding to electricity demands.
"Battery storage, or battery energy storage systems (BESS), are devices that enable energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.”