Battery storage facility proposed for 18 acres of Cumbrian farmland

Net Zero Seventeen has lodged plans with Cumberland Council to develop on land at West Farm, off West Street in Aspatria.

The facility would use battery energy storage technology with a capacity of up to 50 megawatts to help supply the national grid, according to the plans.

It would consist of rows of containers housing batteries, inverters, and transformers, which would be able to quickly release and absorb energy from the power network.

This would facilitate the storage of enough electrical energy to power approximately 161,897 homes for two hours.

A cable route and associated infrastructure such as inverters, transformers, switchgear buildings, fencing and security infrastructure would also be developed, along with the creation of access tracks and landscaping at the 18.3-acre site.

This cable route would run from the proposed BESS facility to a 132kV overhead power line connection to the west.

The rest of the site not used for the battery compound will either be subject to landscape and BNG improvements, or left as managed grassland.

If approved, it is expected the facility would have a lifespan of 40 years. Cumberland Council planners will decide on the proposal at a future date.

The project team features Pegasus Group, Clarkson and Woods Ecological Consultants, Inacoustic, and Barton Hyett Associates.

To view the plans, search for application reference number FUL/2024/0085 on Cumberland Council’s planning portal.