North Lanarkshire Council has approved a 30MW battery energy storage system (BESS), to be developed by Renewable Connections.
The local council made its decision on 14 August at a committee meeting. The BESS site is on Burnbank Street in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, and the system will connect via a substation into SP Energy Networks Coatbridge. The substation has been identified by the network operator as a location that would benefit from a BESS.
The 30MW/60MWh lithium-ion system will take up about one acre of land and be operational for up to 40 years, after which time all installations will be removed.
According to solar and battery storage developer Renewable Connections, the BESS will optimise 100MW off renewable energy projects around the UK. Phil Hale, chief operating officer at Renewable Connections, said the council’s decision was a “great step towards a net zero future”.
In 2019, North Lanarkshire Council declared a climate emergency and set a target of net zero by 2030 for the area. Renewable Connections hosted a public consultation in May 2023 and received no objections from public or statutory consultees. It submitted its application to the council in January this year, and construction is expected to begin in 2026.
Hale added: “Burnbank BESS will support the council to meet its low carbon targets by enabling homes and businesses to be powered by renewable energy sources. This technology also helps to manage the peaks and troughs of energy demand, supporting a more stable and reliable national electricity grid, which is great news for everyone.”
According to National Grid, technologies like battery storage systems that support the integration of low carbon power could save the UK energy system up to £40 billion by 2025.
This approval follows a successful application for a 22.5MW solar PV power plant in South Staffordshire. The developer also received consent for its first project in Scotland, a 25MW solar and 20MW battery storage facility, came in March 2022.
Scotland to host floating solar
Renewable Connections was set up by London-based Armstrong Capital Management, a sustainable energy investment specialist. In 2021, it won £40,000 from the London Mayor’s Resilience Fund for a floating solar PV array that would provide renewable energy to London City Airport.
Westmorland and Furness Council in Scotland recently received a letter from consultancy firm Green Cat Renewables, requesting a screening opinion on a 35-40MW floating solar development.
Early development plans suggest that the panels “will be mounted on floating pontoons fixed at an optimum angle for the solar panels” and will be anchored to the base of the dock. The developers suggest that construction will require activity over a nine to 12-month period “as a worst-case”, with minimal ongoing visits from maintenance personnel required once completed.
Late last year, Nova Innovation deployed Scotland’s first floating solar demonstration project in the Port of Leith, Scotland.
