How much battery storage does the north-east actually need?
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Fears of what have been described as "industrialisation by stealth" of the north-east have once again been brought into sharp focus with the latest application for yet another batter energy storage compound to be located near Kintore.
With multiple offshore wind turbine projects, new power linesand substationsall raising comment on the scale and potential effects, attention has turned to the associated battery storage compounds and the methods developers are using to see them brought forward.
The Kintore Energy Storage Project(APP/2023/1017) which is proposed by Alcemi is the latest in a growing list and is located on the edge of the existing Midmill Business Park south of Kintore, on a ’brownfield’ site comprising an area of cleared industrial land.
The Project site comprises 5.7 hectares of land which will contain a 300 megawatt (MW) energy storage facility for connection to the existing nearby substation and is one of the largest of its kind to be proposed.
Note: Energy figures quoted are made by the applicants themselves and refer to the instantaneous power they can produce on a continuing basis (MW). Energy storage capacity is measured in MW/h - the amount of energy that can be discharged by the battery before it must be recharged. This can be compared to the output of a power plant. These figures are not included in the planning applications nor are the duration of output*
At present, multiple applications have been brought forward across the north-east with a capped storage of 49.9MW, as this means they do not have to be considered as major developments and only have to meet local planning requirements.
This method has raised serious concerns from nearby residents as Aberdeenshire Council Local Planning have advised that as each individual project meets the necessary requirements, and there is no reason not to approve them – but no consideration can be given for the overarching impacts of the sites together.
There is also concern that the smaller sites do not trigger comments from SEPA and that they do not generate fire plans - which has proved a contentious issue following fires at battery sites.
Documents submitted with the latest Kintore application reveal that just seven people attended an public consultation session held in February at Kintore Public Hall of which just three were actually local residents.
Confirmation with the local community council indicates that they could find no indication of this event being advertised, nor are the local community council on the list of statutory consultees listed in the engagement document submitted with the application.
Analysis of applications approved, currently in progress and at the enquiry stage with Aberdeenshire Council shows the scale of developments being made, and the extent of the sub-50MW approach being used.
For Kintore there are three currently approved sites -
Formation of battery energy storage system (up to 49.9mw), erection of substation at land approximately 450m north-west Of South Leylodge Farmhouse, Kintore.
Formation of battery energy storage compound (up to 49.9MW) adjacnet to A96 at Midmill Kintore.
Formation of battery energy storage compound at (up to 49.9MW) Fordtown, Kintore.
There is also a current planning enquiry (pre-application) for another 49.9 MW battery storage facility adjacent To Kintore Substation.
In the last four years Aberdeenshire Council has approved the following -
Installation of (up to 49.9MW) battery energy storage facility land 400M to the north-east Of Drumlithie, Stonehaven.
Formation of 45MW battery energy storage system compound on land east Of A981 Fraserburgh.
Battery storage facility (49.9 MW) at land south of Macduff Electricity Substation, Law Of Doune Road, Macduff.
Erection of battery energy storage system (49.9MW) at Middleton Of Blackford, Rothienorman.
Installation of battery energy storage system (49.9MW) at Meetlaw, Fordoun.
Installation of battery energy storage system (49.9MW) at land to the north east of Overhill Farm, Rothienorman.
Installation of battery energy storage system (49,9MW) at land to the north west of West Bendings, Stonehaven.
Formation of Grid Battery Energy Storage Facility (up to 50MW) at Hillhead Of Phingask
Installation of Grid Battery Energy Storage Facility (up to 50MW) at land 1.5km to the north west of Rothienorman.
In association with the work being done at Peterhead on a new substation and the associated power line which will bisect the entire north-east as it runs to Beauly, Alcemi are now taking forward plans for a 1GW (gigawatt) storage site on approximately 22.1 hectares of land located west of the A90 adjacent to the northern boundary of Score Marine Limited, to the south west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire
At this stage, it is assumed that the connection will take the form of a direct connection to the existing 400kV overhead lines crossing the site (which in turn connect to Peterhead Substation).
Feedback on applications and proposals can be made at the project pages and on the relevant applications via Aberdeenshire Council.
* By example a battery site with a power rating of 10MW and an energy capacity of 40MWh.
Duration = Energy Storage Capacity / Power Rating
Using the above equation, we can conclude that the battery has a duration of 4 hours
Duration = 40 MWh / 10 MW = four hours
This means that if the battery is fully charged, and discharged at its maximum power rating, it will provide energy for four hours before needing a recharge and if it is discharged at less than its maximum rating, it could provide energy for a longer period of time.
