Energy developer Balance Power has today (September 24) received planning permission for a 99MW/99MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Iron Acton, south Gloucestershire.
Balance Power is still finalizing the construction timeline for the 1-hour BESS, but stressed that the company has ongoing discussions with National Grid to extend the date for connection to the 100MW grid, which is currently set for June 2036. to advance.
The BESS, located approximately ten miles northeast of Bristol, will ensure stability to the electricity grid by supplying energy during periods of peak demand. Balance Power confirmed that the stored energy would be renewable, contributing to the wider decarbonisation of the electricity grid.
The Iron Acton Grid Supply Point (GSP) network currently has 120 MW of solar PV and wind connected, with a further 750 MW of solar PV connections planned.
Oliver Pettersen, connections manager at Balance Power, stated that the project will be “critical” in managing the excess energy generation produced by the variable renewable energy generation projects in the area.
“With the extensive development of solar energy in the Iron Acton area, this project will be critical for managing excess energy generation and more broadly for balancing renewable energy supply and demand, reducing dependence on fossil fuels” , said Pettersen.
“Due to the size and scale of the project, it also marks a major step forward for the UK’s transition to net zero, which relies on battery storage projects providing stability for a carbon-free electricity grid. We are grateful for the support from South Gloucestershire and the community. It is thanks to our collective efforts and close collaboration that we have achieved this fantastic result.”
The planning approval for the BESS comes as Balance Power recently secured a £5.1 million debt facility from investment manager Triple Point to boost Balance’s solar PV and BESS pipeline. Part of the funding was used to acquire the 6MWp Roborough project from Regener8 Power, based in Plymouth, Devon.
Grid connections continue to dampen net zero ambitions
Several countries have experienced problems with their grid connection queues as many new renewable energy projects are brought online, and Britain is no exception. According to ESO, the queue for transmission connections has grown by more than 275 GW since October 2022 and by an average of more than 20 GW per month over the past twelve months.
This recently resulted in market consultancy’s Cornwall Insight brand receiving timely grid connections as the “biggest challenge in the rollout of renewable energy in Britain”.
The ESO also expects that the total queue, for both transmission and distribution, is likely to exceed 800 GW by the end of 2024, more than four times the installed capacity that the organization estimates will be needed in 2050.
This is why ESO made the proposal ‘First ready, first connected’ approach for new requests and existing projects in the queue.
ESO proposed a two-step process for new applications, with an annual application window to reach ‘Gate 1’ and ‘readiness’ criteria to reach ‘Gate 2’. Only projects that meet the Gate 2 criteria will be queued.
The long-term connection reforms were first announced in December 2023 and would have only applied to new connection requests and significant change requests received from January 2025 onwards.
