The UK division of global developer NatPower Group has submitted planning applications for two battery energy storage projects (BESS).
NatPower UK held consultations for the Mowbray Energy Storage project and the Bellmoor Energy Storage project in November. Both projects have a capacity of 1GW and a duration of 4 hours.
Mowbray will see a 1GW BESS and transmission linked substation on 93 hectares of land north of the village of East Rounton, North Yorkshire. Lithium-ion batteries will be used for the project, and early design plans suggested they would be spread across two buildings on the site, surrounded by environmental improvements.
If the project is approved, NatPower expects construction to begin in late 2026 and be completed in June 2028, and the site to begin commercial operation in December 2028. According to the project website, the planning application is currently awaiting verification by North Yorkshire Council. Until this process is completed, the application will not be accessible to the public.
The submitted application for the Bellmoor BESS, which will be located near the village of Thirsk, is also subject to verification by North Yorkshire Council. However, a newsletter sent to locals this month explains some of the changes NatPower has made to the program in response to feedback they received in November.
These changes include relocating and downsizing the associated transmission-connected substation.
The developer has also changed plans so that an area of land that might have been built on will no longer be developed for renewable energy use during the life of the project. It also said the net gain in biodiversity in the area will be 148%.
According to the newsletter, the changes to the plan represent “a meaningful change.”
NatPower UK BESS investments
In March 2024, NatPower announced plans to bring more than 60 GWh of battery capacity online in the UK by 2040, investing £10 billion in the battery energy storage sector.
At the time, the company said the first three of its ‘GigaParks’ would receive planning permission in 2024, with a further 10 applying in 2025.
In addition to the Mowbray and Bellmoor projects (submitted only slightly behind schedule), NatPower has submitted a planning application for a 1GW BESS in Teesworks, an industrial area in Great Britain. The project will be built across 50 hectares of the Long Acres portion of the 4,500 hectare Teesworks site.
The NatPower UK website lists four other BESS projects in ‘early planning’, with locations given (Nottinghamshire, Denbighshire, Hampshire and Cumbria), but no further information. All NatPower BESS projects have a (planned) capacity of 1GW.
