Renewable energy developer Voltis has submitted a screening request for a 500MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Buckinghamshire.
Voltis hopes to find out whether the project will need an Environmental Impact Assessment. It is to be located at Mop End Lane, Amersham, within the Green Belt and in the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The development is proposed to sit across 11 hectares of agricultural land. A renewable energy generation site is also being explored to be co-located with the project. Should it be developed, the system would connect to the grid, offering stability services by capturing variable renewable energy generation.
Readers of Solar Power Portal will likely remember the discourse surrounding the deployment of solar PV plants and energy storage facilities on agricultural land. Earlier this year, the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland and Iqony Solar Energy Solutions stated that for the UK to reach its net zero goals, PV would only take up 0.29% of available land (and 0.51% of all available agricultural land.
To put this into perspective, UK airports currently use 0.2% of available land, and golf courses use 0.51%.
According to planning documents submitted to Buckinghamshire Council, Voltis argues that the development “may fall within the definition of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 by virtue of it being associated development which helps facilitate the operation of the electricity generating network”.
Voltis is currently conducting an online public consultation on the project, which will continue until 6 January 2025.
Buckinghamshire is home to several large-scale solar PV developments. For instance, in September, EDF Renewables opened its consultation on updated proposals for the Rosefield Solar Farm project that will also feature battery storage and is classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP).
Solar Power Portal asked for clarification and heard that capacity cannot be confirmed at this stage because proposals are still being developed.
In 2023, global renewable energy company Low Carbon achieved energisation at its 22MW Fox Covert Solar Farm. The renewable energy company also announced plans to develop a 600MW energy park in North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, which includes solar and energy storage, in March 2023.
