Renewable energy developer Greenfield has secured planning permission for a 400MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Thornton, East Yorkshire.
The project will have a direct grid connection and the developer claims that the project will be able to meet the power needs of 640,000 homes for two hours on a full charge. Greenfield developed the project together with UK independent agricultural and environmental consultancy ADAS, highlighting the environmental benefits of the project, including a 56.28% gain in habitat units at the project site.
“At 400 MW and with a direct transmission link, this is exactly the type of project needed to unlock grid capacity, reduce system constraints and enable the continued growth of renewable energy,” said Greenfield managing director David Ring.
“What sets Thornton apart is the way it has been developed. We have delivered a plan that significantly exceeds biodiversity requirements, while maintaining a strong focus on technical and planning integrity.”
The scale of the project is remarkable, as its size is comparable to some of the largest operational batteries in Britain. Last summer, Statera started commercial operations on a 300 MW/600 MWh Thurrock projectthe largest in the country at the time, and projects as large as 1.4 GW have received planning permission.
The project is also significantly larger than some of the other batteries Greenfield has developed in the past year. Together with investor Renewable Power Capital (RPC), Greenfield obtained planning permission last September for an 82 MW portfolioThan an additional 79MW of batteries in January this year. The progress of these projects brought the total portfolio of batteries developed by the two companies to 273 MW, spread across seven projects.
