A 3D render of what the Bellmoor site could look like. Image: NatPower UK.

The UK division of global developer NatPower Group has submitted planning applications for two battery energy storage (BESS) projects.

NatPower UK held consultations for the Mowbray Energy Storage project and the Bellmoor Energy Storage project in November. Both projects will have a capacity of 1GW and 4-hour duration.

Mowbray will see a 1GW BESS and a transmission-connected substation on 93 acres of land to the 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 compounds on the site, surrounded by ecological enhancements.

If the project is approved, NatPower expects construction to begin in late 2026 and conclude in June 2028, and the site will 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 is not accessible to the public.

Likewise, the application submitted for the Bellmoor BESS, which will be situated near the village of Thirsk, is yet to be verified by the North Yorkshire Council. However, a newsletter sent to locals this month explains some of the changes NatPower made to the scheme following feedback received in November.

These changes include moving and downsizing the associated transmission connected substation.

The developer has also amended plans so that an area of land that might have been built on will no longer be developed, across the project’s lifespan, for any renewable energy use. It also said the biodiversity net gain in the area will be 148%.

According to the newsletter, the amendments to the plan represent “a meaningful change”.

NatPower UK BESS investments

In March 2024, NatPower announced plans to bring over 60GWh 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 go for planning permission in 2024, and a further 10 would apply in 2025.

As well as the Mowbray and Bellmoor projects (submitted only slightly behind schedule), NatPower has submitted a planning application for a 1GW BESS at Teesworks, a UK industrial zone. The project will be constructed over 50 acres of the Long Acres section of the 4,500-acre 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 of NatPower’s BESS projects have a 1GW (planned) output.