A new player in the UK battery energy storage systems (BESS) market has teamed up with five major planning consultancies to prepare planning applications for 40 BESS projects across the country.
Root-Power, which launched last month as a specialist BESS offshoot of YLEM Energy, has appointed planning consultancy firms Lanpro, PWA Planning, RCA Regeneration, ELG Planning and Clive Fagg Planning to accelerate the delivery of its 40-project BESS pipeline. .
The projects range in scale from 11 MW to 100 MW and will jointly provide 2 GW of storage capacity. Planning applications will be submitted in the remainder of 2024.
According to Root-Power, one of the largest projects in the pipeline has already reached the advanced development stage of the planning process. If approved, the 100MW/200MWh project will be located in Granborough, Buckinghamshire.
Neil Brooks, managing director at Root-Power said: “This is a very exciting time for Root-Power as we continue our mission to establish ourselves as one of the largest owner-operators of energy storage systems in the UK.”
The UK BESS pipeline continues to grow
In recent weeks and months there has been an influx of new BESS planning applications and approvals from various developers.
Last month, the Harker project, a 200 MW/400 MWh, 2-hour BESS development proposed by Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy and Windel Energy, was granted full planning permission by Cumberland Council. Despite previous objections from the local community, approval was granted and construction will now commence in the fourth quarter of 2029 unless an earlier date for grid connection can be agreed.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s Highland Council will hear proposals for three BESS projects: two from Field Energy and one from Forss Energy Storage. Two of these projects, the Rigifa and Corrimoillie projects, are seeking approval for 200 MW of storage capacity, while the third, the Forss project, aims to develop a 49.9 MW BESS within the existing Forss Business and Technology Park, near Thurso.
Statera recently won planning permission, with Dorset Council approving planning permission for a 400MW/2,400MWh BESS project at East Chickerell Court Farm, Weymouth.
Neil Brooks, director of Root-Power, spoke to our sister publication Current± about the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Read it here.
