Leicestershire battery storage site scheme given approval

A battery site capable of storing enough energy to provide two hours of power to 235,000 homes has been approved by planners.

Blaby District Council has given Exagen permission to develop the 19-acre facility near Earl Shilton in Leicestershire.

The company says the £270m project is one of the largest to be granted planning permission in the UK.

Nearly half the site will be planted for biodiversity.

Battery facilities are designed to hold electricity from renewable sources and release it when demand outstrips supply, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Called the Normanton Energy Reserve, the 500MW/1GWh project is designed to supply 80% of the homes in the county for two hours.

It will be directly connected to the National Grid at a new substation.

Exagen said that as part of its environmental commitment, landscaping works and planting would take place and be given the chance to establish and grow.

Normanton Millennium Wood will be extended and there will be new wildflower meadows and land for beekeeping, along with new hedgerows and perimeter tree planting.

A community fund to support local projects will be given an initial £250,000, with £50,000 added each year for 40 years.

Jeremy Littman, CEO at Exagen Development, said: "For the UK to achieve its 2050 net zero target at the lowest possible cost, there needs to be an increase in electricity storage capacity to balance renewable energy generation.

"As more renewables are deployed, larger battery projects like Normanton will be required.

"It is vital that they are developed sensitively and in partnership with the local communities that host them."

A timescale for full operation has not been finalised, but Exagen said it planned to commission the project in 2029.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].