Developer Clearstone Energy has secured the planning allocation for two large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in England.
Both projects, the 300 MW/600MWH Bramford Storage project and the 400 MW/800MWH Great Oak Energy Hub, received planning permission without outstanding objections from legal consulti’s or local fire and rescue services.
The Bramford Bess project comprises eight hectares of land 400 meters east of the existing 400kv Bramford substation in Suffolk. By 2030, almost 3 GW wind generation from the offshore wind projects of East Anglia will be connected to the same substation.
Clearstone has already received technical approvals from National Grid and said that it has now received permission for the project, it will apply for an accelerated connection date as part of the implementation of Clean Power 2030 (CP30). The contracted connection date at this stage is 2029.
The Great Oak Energy Hub is located in Sussex and the 400 MW Bess site, which covers 17 hectares, was designed in collaboration with experts on the KNEPP Estate, who hosts De Bess, to maximize the sustainability of the project.
Clearstone said that after ‘extensive’ community consultation, the focus on sustainable design and new habitat creation led to a high level of support from the local community, with 73% for the project and support from the local parish council.
The Great Oak Energy Hub will be connected to the electricity grid in 2031, but again, Clearstone said it will apply for an accelerated connection date now that the planning permission has been protected.
The government’s plan to deliver CP30 requires 27GW Operation Bess capacity in the UK by 2030.
The newly established projects bring Clearstone’s portfolio of ready-made currents projects in the UK to 1.1 GW/2.2GWH. At the end of 2024, it sold one of his ready-made projects to the field of energy, and at that time it would use the funds of the sale of assets to continue to develop his portfolio.
Clearstone successfully negotiated the connecting date for the 200MW/800MWH project that is now owned by Field that will be moved from 2033 to 2026.
According to Clearstone’s main development Rob Garratt, conversations with National Grid about grid connections for the two newly approved sites are “well advanced”.
Garratt said: “We look forward to working with National Grid and the Operator of the National Energy System to find ways to present connecting data to support Clean Power 2030.”
