Tuesday January 31st 2023
Plans for a major electricity storage compound in mid-Berwickshire are set to receive the blessing of a planning committee.
The applicant, Glasgow-based TNEI Services Limited, has submitted a proposal to build a Battery Electricity Storage System (BESS) on land east of Fernyrig Farm in Coldstream.
The site is located approximately 2.8km to the east of the village of Eccles. The application site includes Eccles Substation on the northern side of the A679 and land to the south.
The development would not generate electricity but would instead provide a location where it can be imported, stored and exported to meet the demands of the national grid network.
The compound would be enclosed by a 4.5m security fence within which would be 132 individual BESS units, a control room, three high voltage transformers, switch rooms and lighting columns.
When members of the council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee meet on Monday, February 6, they will be recommended to raise no objections regarding the proposal to Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit.
A report to the committee, from the council’s peripatetic planning officer Scott Shearer, says: “Greater emphasis is being placed on meeting our energy demands from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
“There will be times when these technologies are not able to generate enough electricity or have technical issues.
“At these times surplus energy stored at BESS can be used to meet grid demands. It is also worth considering that by having greater storage potential in the short term it may help to reduce the amount of non-renewable energy which is required to be generated which can help lower carbon levels over this period.
“The proposal will play an important role as part of a wider mixture of renewable energy technologies which will be required to meet the commitments of the Climate Change Act, including the transformational change towards a net zero energy sector.”
Committee members are to be advised that the proposed development would “not adversely impact on the landscape character or the visual amenity of the surrounding area”.
If agreed, the compound would operate for a period of 38 years.
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