Norfolk: Battery facility proposed next to listed hotel

Developers want to build a giant battery for when the "sun is not shining" near a Grade II-listed hotel.

The plans for the 130MW energy storage system for the national grid have been proposed for the village of Dunston, near Norwich.

It would be two and half times larger than a £25m 49.9MW battery facility approved for the same village in 2018.

A planning statement submitted to South Norfolk Council said it would "make sure the [energy] system is stable".

The scheme, next to Dunston Hall, has been put forward by FPC Electric Land, to provide flexible energy storage, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It would feed into the National Grid's balancing services programme, which provides backup for more intermittent and inflexible low carbon power sources.

The planning statement said: "The UK needs the assurance over the course of each year that there is enough generation capacity to satisfy even exceptional periods of demand (known as 'stress events') or to back-up renewables when the wind does not blow, or the sun is not shining."

It said the development would not have an adverse noise or visual impact and would be on a site surrounded by trees on three sides.

Last week, concerns were raised about the number of large-scale developments proposed in the South Norfolk district, with a solar farm approved for Hethel and similar installations proposed in Swainsthorpe and Bracon Ash.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]