An expert hired by local residents to assess the safety of a proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) in the North Yorkshire countryside says the plans have “fundamental deficiencies” and should be rejected.
Opponents of a proposal to build a 1GW BESS near East Rounton, between Northallerton and Yarm, asked Newcastle University battery energy safety specialist Dr Wojciech Mrozik to examine the plans submitted to North Yorkshire Council.
He identified ten issues with the planning application for the Mowbray BESS scheme, describing nine as “critical” in severity and one as “high”.
His concerns included the absence of wind direction data being included in fire safety assessments, with homes to the north of the site and motorists on the A19 likely to be affected by smoke and fumes in the event of a fire, when the data was included.
The expert said a proposed single access point from Low Lane contravened the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance, while Dr Mrozik also said the application underestimated the amount of hazardous hydrogen fluoride that would be emitted should the plant catch fire.
He said the flood risk assessment was inadequate and there were no credible mitigation measures, with part of the site being in flood zones two and three, not flood zone one, as stated.
Concern that the battery containers were only three metres apart, and may be less than that, when guidance suggests they should be six metres apart, was also raised
Dr Mrozik concluded: “Based on a comprehensive review of all planning documents, analysis against current international standards, integration of peer-reviewed scientific literature, and professional experience in energy infrastructure safety assessment, I conclude that the proposed Mowbray Battery Energy Storage System development exhibits fundamental deficiencies that warrant refusal of planning permission in its current form.”
A separate report on noise from the site, compiled by consultants from 24Acoustics, found a “much more pessimistic” outcome than the application found, with nearby homes expected to experience “significant adverse effects”.
A third report by consultants from Railton concluded that the proposals were unacceptable for highway safety reasons.
The study claimed that while the applicant predicted that up to 3,000 HGVs would visit the site during construction, a more realistic figure was
around 11,400 HGVs.
It said the proposed route for construction vehicles was used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, but had inadequate visibility and was not wide enough for two HGVs to pass each other.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted NatPower for comment on the claims.
BESS plants store electricity from the grid at times of lower demand and release it back to the grid when it is needed most.
NatPower, which has also filed an application for a similar BESS scheme at South Kilvington, near Thirsk, says the facilities make an essential contribution to ensuring reliable, secure and affordable electricity for the country.
The company says on its website that its BESS sites comply with all applicable UK health, safety and environmental legislation, and that the design integrates the recommended guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council.
It added: “We have employed an independent fire safety expert to ensure the site will accord with the highest standards of fire safety.”
NatPower said noise modelling for the Mowbray site had shown that no significant adverse noise effects would be created by the proposed development.
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