Green light for battery energy storage system

The site will have little impact on the local community, with no residential properties nearby, developers say

Plans to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) next to a former power station have been approved.

One Plant Developments wants to install the facility on greenbelt land off Stranglands Lane, near to the former Ferrybridge C power station.

BESS facilities take in power from renewable energy sources and then release it back to the National Grid when demand is high.

Wakefield Council gave its backing to the plan, which received no comments of support but only one objection.

One Plant Developments said it had chosen the location due to its proximity to the Ferrybridge C substation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The firm said: "There are no residential properties in the immediate vicinity of the application site, and the proposed development is not likely to affect any significant number of people.

"Given that the proposed BESS will be an unmanned facility, with access required only for occasional maintenance inspections, and there being no public access to the site, there are no particular access issues that require to be addressed."

The former Ferrybridge power plant, close to the River Aire, was shut in March 2016 after more than 50 years of energy production.

It was once one of the biggest power generators in Europe, with its coal-fired boilers producing enough electricity to power 2m homes.

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