Plans for a battery storage site on 173 acres of farmland in North Yorkshire have been circulated, despite significant opposition from residents and environmental groups.
A proposed 1GW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), based at South Kilvington, Thirsk, has been put forward by energy company NatPower, which is looking to build battery storage units on the large patch of Greenfield land.
The project, named Bellmoor Energy Storage, is provisionally located off Hag Lane, east of the A19, and includes a battery storage system, a transmission-connected substation, and a host of environmental enhancements.
Despite the proposals being raised, residents and environmental groups have raised concerns about environmental, visual, and noise impacts.
An opposition group, Thirsk Against Battery Storage (TABS), has been formed to fight the planning application - with over 800 members joining the collective online over the last three weeks.
One of the main concerns of the group centres on the planned development’s impact on the local landscape.
Other concerns from the opposition group include that the industrial-scale project is "out of place in the rural setting".
Philip Martin, who lives in South Kilvington, is one of the members of TABS and has called the proposed battery site "industrialisation of the countryside".
He said: "This section of land is a peaceful place and a useful piece of farming land. A section of the plans that will house the battery site will be the size of eight football pitches to give you a scale of the project.
"We were first aware of it when a letter dropped through our doors, but there are still plenty of people who are unaware of what this project means.
"This land is highly productive in farming and a Greenfield site. Renewable sites should be made but not in this location, they could use Brownfield sites instead."
As part of the opposition, residents are looking to submit objections as soon as an official application is submitted to North Yorkshire Council and have started fundraising for legal and planning experts.
Alyson Baker, who represents the Hillside and Raskelf division for North Yorkshire Council, says she "remains unconvinced" that South Kilvington is the correct location for the battery storage site.
Cllr Baker said: "Considering this site, it will be a blight on a lovely little bit of North Yorkshire.
"Sutton Bank, considered one of the finest views in England, will be impacted by this and the battery storage will be visible from there.
"It's always a worry that companies will open the site and contribute nothing to the area, and I'm worried about it in this case.
"I remain unconvinced that this is the right location for a site of this scale."
In response to the concerns NatPower’s managing director, John Sturman, has highlighted the project's importance to the UK and region.
He said: "Engaging with the local community is important to us. We had a great turnout at our recent 2-day community consultation event in Thirsk.
"Out of the 173 acres, only about a third of that – 58 acres – would be developed for battery storage and its substation. Of the remaining 115 acres, 60 acres will continue to be farmed and 55 acres will be transformed into a new nature reserve and native tree woodland."
Mr Sturman also claimed that the repurposing of the land would mean no more annual pesticide or fertiliser runoff into the local streams, which he said would increase biodiversity and attract endangered species.
He added: "We’re working hard to minimise and remove as far as possible, visual impact, using the lowest lying part of the site for the energy storage units and ensuring that existing hedgerows and woodland are enhanced, in addition to significant new tree planting around the project, hiding the development from both local and long-range views.
"Electricity use is expected to double in the next 25 years, at the same time as we are looking to stop using fossil fuels for electricity generation by 2030.
"A safe, secure, reliable infrastructure of renewable energy and renewable energy storage to meet that demand can’t be accommodated just on brownfield land. We also need to consider where we can connect to the national grid.
"We carried out an exhaustive site selection process. This site sits in between two existing transmission lines and their pylons."
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