Plans approved for ‘battery energy storage facility' approved for site near A19 in Sunderland

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved an application for a major energy infrastructure project on 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”.

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

Councillors met at City Hall to discuss the plans on Monday (September 2) and voted unanimously to approve the development.

A council report said the “wider environmental, public and economic benefits” of the proposal would outweigh harm to the Green Belt.

Due to the amount of development proposed on Green Belt land however, councillors had to refer the application to the Secretary of State, with government expected to make a final decision on the plan in future.

Although there were no formal public objections during a council consultation on the planning application, Sandhill ward councillor Paul Edgeworth attended Monday’s planning meeting to raise concerns on behalf of residents.

This included fears about potential fire risks and environmental impacts on Wearside in the context of a previous fire at a similar battery energy storage facility in Liverpool.

Cllr Edgeworth said that some residents living near the proposed development in Sunderland had not been consulted, and called for the application to be deferred to allow for engagement and information to be provided.

Craig Hunter, operation manager at Newton Energi Ltd, stressed the battery storage facility would be monitored 24/7 and that there were “multiple layers of safety” to monitor the development and prevent fires, including the ability to remotely isolate battery containers and ‘fire suppression systems’.

Those behind the scheme said they had liaised with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service around the plans, and that the service had no objections and would develop its own safety response plan for the facility.

It was also argued that the development would create jobs and contribute to the council’s low carbon action plan and transition to net zero, as well as being “temporary and reversible” and creating biodiversity improvements.

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

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

The facility, subject to final approval, would have an operational lifespan of 35 years before the development is “decommissioned” and the land is “reinstated to its former use”.

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”.

Developers previously said the proposed facility would “provide backup energy for the intermittent renewable energy sources” as well as “increasing the resilience of supply”, with the ability to “provide backup in case of power outage in the local area for approximately 135,000 homes”.

Those behind the scheme added they were willing to liaise with local councillors to help “mitigate” concerns around the development in future.

The application follows recent plans from Whirlwind Energy Storage Ltd for a “battery energy storage scheme” in the Boldon Colliery ward, close to the Sunderland border, with “up to 360 energy storage cabinets”.

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.

For more information on the Sunderland battery energy storage facility planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01981/FUL