Residents’ concerns over Shearston energy storage facility plans

The Thurloxton Action Group has voiced its concerns about a planning application looking to install a battery energy storage facility on a site near North Petherton, which could be erected on Kings Farm, between Shearston and Thurloxton.

Conrad Energy has presented an application for a “formation of a battery energy storage facility, substation, underground cabling, accesses, landscaping, biodiversity enhancements and ancillary infrastructure and equipment to include an acoustic fence, security fence, and gates”.

The company is looking to install 30 battery units with 15 inverter containers but the Thurloxton Action Group said that the site proposed to host the facility is on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and there are several issues including risks of fire, toxic materials, and impact on both traffic and the environment.




More photos of the area 

The Thurloxton Group said the following are its main objections to the plan are linked to the following issues:

• The industrial site is in a beautiful unspoiled valley and will consist of 45-50 battery storage units each one the size of a shipping container. 
• There is a plan to build a service road along the bottom of the valley alongside the stream, which is home to a multitude of various wildlife, including nesting buzzards;
• ​The developers state they will shield the site with tree planting which the CPRE says will take 10-15 years to mature;
• The lanes, which lorries and construction traffic would need to access, are totally unsuitable for such traffic;
• There is a major risk of spontaneous battery fire, resulting in lethal gases being emitted;
• There is absolutely no benefit to the local population;
• This is not a green project - no electricity will be produced.  The site will draw down electricity at night, when it is cheap, and feed it back into the grid when it is expensive, during the day – therefore making a profit; 
• There may be a considerable noise problem associated with the cooling systems;
• The fire officer states there is insufficient water at the site to contain a fire.

One of the lanes near the proposed site

A spokesperson for Conrad Energy said: “Conrad Energy is an experienced and diligent energy company which operates over 50 facilities across the UK.

“The Kings Farm project has been carefully sited and we have put forward a detailed planning submission.
"The application is out for consultation, and we are taking on board comments from the local community as well as the statutory consultees.

“We will carefully consider all the comments raised through this process and present additional information as needed.

“Battery storage projects are fundamental to achieving net-zero in the UK and projects like this one are vital in providing stability to the grid and storing renewable energy for use when consumers require it.

“To improve our energy security and reduce energy costs a rapid growth in storage projects is needed as we must be able to store and then distribute it when required.

“At the same time, we fully understand the need to design and operate our projects sensitively working together with the communities around our sites.”