Battery energy storage facility backed

The building of a battery energy storage facility has been recommended for approval by city planners.

Newton Energi wants to build on land next to Foxcover Road, close to the A19 in Sunderland.

The development would store energy generated by renewables like wind and solar panels and release it during "periods of extreme demand", according to planning documents.

A decision on the application will be made by Sunderland City Council on 2 September in a meeting open to the public.

Plans for the site show control rooms and storage units, as well as a large area containing around 28 battery storage containers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council planners said the site had been identified due to its “close proximity to Offerton substation which allows for below ground connection”.

If approved, the facility would have a lifespan of 35 years.

Plans for a similar battery energy storage scheme in Boldon Colliery were recently rejected by South Tyneside Council's Planning Committee, against the advice of its officers.

Battery storage plants are becoming a familiar sight across the UK, with hundreds of applications currently lodged with councils.

But they have met opposition, with concerns expressed around fire safety.

On 15 September 2020, a blaze at a site in Liverpool took 59 hours to extinguish.

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