RES granted planning permission for 99.9MW BESS project

Renewable energy firm RES has been granted permission to begin development of a 99.9MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Durham.

The Spennymoor Energy Storage System project is set to be developed on land to the south of an existing electrical substation on Thinford Lane and will store electricity during periods when generation exceeds demand.

This energy will be released back to the grid network when demand exceeds generation helping to create grid stability in the region. In doing so, the project will facilitate the growing deployment of new wind, solar and other renewables supporting the transition to net zero in the UK.

“We are very pleased that Durham County Council has chosen to back this important infrastructure, which has been carefully sited and designed to optimise the land available for development,” said Alan McMahon, head of energy storage at RES.

“Energy storage systems like the Spennymoor project are essential for a stable and secure electricity system; the resilience of which is crucial for the UK’s future energy security.”

The project is expected to also integrate the planting of new native woodland, species-rich grassland and the creation of a pond to feed food and shelter for a range of fauna species helping to restore biodiversity to the area.

Invertebrate boxes, hedgehog houses and bat boxes are also proposed with all of these measures leading to a biodiversity net gain of 25%.

The BESS market continues to expand at pace, with the technology set to play a vital role in the decarbonisation of the energy sector. Earlier this week, Bluestone Energy submitted three 69MW BESS project proposals for Scottish Water sites in Renfrewshire for example, whilst earlier this month Simec Atlantis Energy confirmed it had secured the necessary grid variations for “one of the largest” BESS projects in the UK, a 230MW/460MWh in Uskmouth, the company said.