Energy storage schemes planned for North Yorkshire, which would mean that the county could become a major provider of renewal energy storage in a £10bn plan to create 20% of UK battery energy storage in the county. Plans are being prepared for two systems on farmland, the Yorkshire Post reported on Saturday 30th November.
Last week a consultation was launched for a scheme by NatPower on land near East Rounton situated between Yarm and North Allerton. A transmission connection is included. Details of a similar scheme on farmland near Thirsk, the Bellmoor project, have already been published. Plans for a more advanced scheme at the Tees Freeport site are expected to be considered shortly by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
NatPower, based in London, describes itself as a clean energy provider and plans to build 13 ‘gigaparks’ over the coming years, with the energy storage schemes planned for North Yorkshire part of this ambition. The battery plants store electricity from the grid at times of lower demand and release it back to the grid when it’s needed. NatPower explains more about the proposal here.
However, local doubts have been expressed, with Thirsk Against Battery Storage (TABS) stating that it has serious concerns about the suitability of the proposed Bellfield location on open farmland and has called for the project to be built on a brownfield site.
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