Derbyshire planners give go-ahead for energy storage system

Derbyshire planners have given the go-ahead for a Battery Energy Storage System to be built on 1.5 hectares of countryside near the Peak District National Park.

The system will help power up to 60,000 homes and was agreed after considering the possible impact of noise and light upon nearby villagers. 

High Peak Borough Council approved Grenergy Renewables UK Ltd’s planning application for a Battery Energy Storage System to operate over a 35-year period on agricultural land on land off Buxton Road, near Dove Holes village, and not far from Peak Dale village, and two kilometres north of Buxton. 

Battery Energy Storage Systems store electrical energy in rechargeable batteries which can be used at a later stage to support ongoing, renewable energy plans while reducing the carbon footprint. 

A council spokesperson stated: “There are no outstanding objections or concerns regarding noise, ecology, heritage assets, flood risk, agricultural land and public safety. The effect of the development in these regards are or can be made acceptable through condition.” 

The scheme’s site – surrounded by the A6 road, woodland, landscaping and a storage base – is approximately 1.1km from the Peak District National Park, approximately 700 metres from Dove Holes, 900 metres from Peak Dale and two kilometres from Buxton. 

It will include battery stations, power stations, a monitoring office room, a substation, transformers, CCTV, security fencing and significantly acoustic fencing, as well as parking spaces with access to the site from the A6 road. 

There are also plans for landscaping including a woodland belt, trees and grassland with an expected habitat net gain of 28.46per cent, according to the council, and the agricultural land on the site is considered to be of a very poor standard. 

A council spokesperson stated: “It is inevitable that a development of this nature, scale and location will have some adverse landscape and visual effects, particularly in the short term. However, it is acknowledged that the proposals are reasonably well contained by existing development and landscape features on all sides. 

“The development would not appear overly prominent on the landscape from a wide range of vantage points. Following mitigation any residual harm is likely to be limited and localised. Ultimately this is a temporary development and a reversible project and after decommissioning there could be some landscape improvement.” 

The council explained the storage system will be connected to the Buxton substation via underground cables in the highway running over one kilometre. The scheme could power up to 60,000 homes per hour and it is expected to save 355,000 tonnes of carbon over 30 years. 

Peak District National Park has raised no objections to the scheme and High Peak Borough Council’s Environmental Health Team stated that after an assessment, any noise for nearby residential homes is deemed to be at acceptable levels with the use of acoustic barriers, and other matters regarding lighting can be appropriately controlled. 

Derbyshire County Council’s Highways Authority also raised no concerns about the number of HGV lorry movements during the construction period of about nine months, although it recommended a wider access point for these larger vehicles. 

The scheme has also been amended to ensure that any development will not go along the route of a Roman Road and will include a buffer on either side of the track. 

High Peak Borough Council stated that there is overwhelming local and national policy support for the development of renewable and low carbon developments like the battery, energy storage system. 

The council also only received one public comment during a consultation which welcomed the scheme as a ‘well-designed initiative’ that would potentially ‘increase local resilience’. 

Its Development Committee subsequently approved the scheme at a meeting at The Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, on April 28 with conditions. 

The conditions include plans for noise mitigation, approved lighting and a landscaping plan, and that authority be given to the council’s Head of Development Services to change any wording subject to any conditions, and for any final approval subject to any objections from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.