Battery storage facility plans submitted

Hundreds of energy storage facilities have already been built across the UK

Plans have been submitted to build a battery energy storage facility in South Yorkshire.

Applicant YLEM Energy Group hopes to build on land located off Brinsworth Road in Rotherham, which is currently used for equestrian purposes.

The development would include battery clusters, a site office and a substation within a fenced compound, with the scheme yet to be considered by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council planners.

The authority said local residents could comment on the application up until 17 October on the council's website.

The facility, which will be built by Root-Power, part of the YLEM Energy Group, would store electricity for the National Grid at times of low demand and release it when demand is high.

YLEM Energy Group said the storage system would help to improve the efficiency of energy production from renewable sources such as wind.

It also said the site in Rotherham has been "strategically placed" on a redundant strip of land close to a grid connection point where it would provide "crucial grid services" to support the UK’s transition to Net Zero.

Sarah Lightfoot, the company's head of development, said: "This site alone will power over 80,000 homes once energised."

Between 2015 and 2021, the UK discarded more than 13% of wind energy generated, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Should planning permission be granted, the site would be decommissioned and restored to open green space after 30 years, the applicant added.

Hundreds of energy storage facilities have already been built across the UK, although concerns about them have been raised.

These include fears about potential fire risks and the environmental impact.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.