Plans for a ‘battery energy storage facility’ on Wearside are due to go before councillors for decision next week.

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee will discuss an application for land near Foxcover Road in the city’s Shiney Row ward.

The land is open green space and sits near the roundabout connecting the A183 and the A19.

Plans from Newton Energi, submitted last year, sought permission for a “30MW battery energy storage system” at the site with associated equipment and a “site boundary treatment”.

The development aims to take energy from the National Grid when demand is low and store it, before releasing it back to the National Grid over “periods of extreme demand”, planning documents state.

With the increase in solar and wind energy and the “intermittent nature of these forms of power generation”, supporting documents from developers said the scheme would “smooth out and stabilise power supply”.

This includes a “capability to store energy temporarily when there is a surplus of renewable generation, thereby enabling the National Grid to avoid instructing the wind/solar generators to stop generating (and making interruption payments as a result, which are borne ultimately by customers”.

Those behind the scheme added the facilities “ensure that the electricity system is more efficient [with] reduced costs to customers”.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of next week’s decision-making Planning and Highways Committee, has recommended the development for approval.

Council planners said the site had been identified due to its “close proximity to Offerton Substation which allows for below ground connection”.

It was argued that the “methodology and reasons behind the site selection were considered acceptable and justified” and that the development would help “facilitate and assist in the transition toward net zero”.

Battery energy storage systems were also described as a “crucial component” in supporting this transition, by helping to “secure electricity supplies, alleviate grid pressure, and contribute to cost containment”.

The council committee report adds: “The development would assist in the stability of the energy grid by providing sustainable and affordable energy both locally and nationally thus providing a benefit to the consumer/community.

“The development would assist the local authority and government in their aim in meeting carbon reduction targets.

“Whilst the proposal would cause a level of harm to the Green Belt, landscape character and protected views, it is considered that having the BESS (battery energy storage system)  in this location would be less intrusive and result in the minimal amount of harm to the landscape and the Green Belt.

“The wider environmental benefits associated with the storage of electricity generated to a large extent from increased production of energy from renewable sources and the benefits to the consumer/community is considered to outweigh the low level of harm identified”.

If approved, the facility would be managed 24/7 and would have an operational lifespan of 35 years, before the development is “decommissioned” and the land is “reinstated to its former use”.

Proposed site plans show switch/control rooms, storage and other equipment, as well as a large area containing around 28 battery storage containers.

Council planners added that the scheme’s “design, materials and layout were considered acceptable” and that additional screening and planting
would result in a “substantial BNG [biodiversity net gain] enhancement within the site that would further minimise the impact”.

Developers previously said the proposed facility would “provide backup energy for the intermittent renewable energy sources” as well as “increasing the resilience of supply”.

It was noted that the facility could “provide backup in case of power outage in the local area for approximately 135,000 homes”.

The application follows recent plans for a “battery energy storage scheme” south of the A184 in the Boldon Colliery ward, close to the Sunderland border.

Plans from Whirlwind Energy Storage Ltd included up to 360 energy storage cabinets, associated power converter units and a “grid connection compound”.

At a meeting on June 17, 2024, South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee voted to reject the plans against the advice of council planning officers, who had recommended the scheme for approval.

Reasons for refusal included the plan representing “inappropriate development” which would be harmful to the Green Belt, as well as the development changing the character of the landscape.

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The final decision on the Sunderland battery energy storage facility rests with councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee, which will next meet on September 2, 2024.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at City Hall at 5.30pm and will be open to the public.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01981/FUL