South Yorkshire flexible energy storage hub to be “one of the largest in the world”

A planning application for what is thought to be the “largest battery energy storage system currently being planned in the UK, and one of the largest anywhere in the world”, has been submitted to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council for review.

Renewable energy, minerals and property firm The Banks Group is looking to create a new flexible energy storage hub through the reclamation and restoration of part of the former Thorpe Marsh power station site near Doncaster.

The Banks project team has reviewed the feedback gathered at the initial consultation event on the scheme that it held late last year in the village of Barnby Dun, which sits to the east of the proposed project site, and has factored it into its planning submission.

The family firm’s next, appointment-only community surgery on the project is now set to take place from 4pm-8pm on Thursday 16 February at the Jubilee Hall on Bentley High Street.

As well as sharing the latest information on the project, Banks will be using the event to source more ideas from local people on how the benefits package that forms part of the Thorpe Marsh project might best be allocated to meet community priorities.

Lewis Stokes, senior community relations manager at The Banks Group, commented: “This is a nationally significant scheme that will put South Yorkshire at the forefront of developments in the increasingly important energy storage industry, and we’re excited to have reached this stage in its realisation.

“The response we’ve had to our ideas from local people, businesses and community leaders so far has been very encouraging and we’ll continue to speak with as many people as we can in the coming months about everything that this project would deliver.”

The Thorpe Marsh Green Energy Hub could store up to 2.8GWhrs of energy, which is enough to supply around 340,000 households with electricity for one day, and would be used to ensure reliable and stable electricity grid operation at times of peak demand, helping to improve the UK’s energy security over the long term.

It would also feature a number of integrated environmental enhancements, including wetlands, woodlands and species-rich grassland, while a range of other economic and social benefits would also follow from its development.

A separate planning application to complete the reclamation of the power station’s former ash disposal area through the recovery of up to 2.25 million tonnes of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) over a four-year period will be finalised in the coming months.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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