The project is located on land south of Pyworthy substation, approximately 1.3 kilometres southwest of Pyworthy village, and would connect directly into the 132 kV overhead line which crosses the site. If consented the 49.9 MW scheme would play an important role in enabling and accelerating the rollout of zero carbon energy to support the UK’s net-zero emissions target.
The proposal has been carefully designed to enhance biodiversity on the site through measures such as the planting of native hedgerow, grassland and wildflower areas – offering new habitats for wildlife which are predicted to achieve a net gain for biodiversity of 21.90 percent in habitats units and 34.06 percent in hedgerow units.
“Energy storage projects play a critical role in reinforcing our energy network and ensuring flexibility” said John Hills, Development Project Manager for RES. “They are the fastest technology for responding to a sudden spike in demand or an abrupt loss of supply on the network. The energy storage system will be utilised by National Grid to balance peaks and troughs in energy demand and generation; it’s a really clever system. These projects also offer great opportunities, particularly in locations like this, for site biodiversity enhancement. Sustainability is a core value at RES, and we carefully design projects like this to ensure that we maximise the environmental benefit. So, not only can this project help us support the UK’s net zero emissions target by accelerating the rollout of zero carbon energy, it can also help us support nature and create a haven for wildlife as well.”
The project, which lies outside any international, national, or local environmental designations, has also received support from the local community. RES held public consultation sessions in March 2024 to engage with the community on the project and over 70 percent of responses stated that they supported the need for energy storage projects to create a more stable and secure electricity system, with more than 85 percent confirming that they were supportive of or neutral to the proposed design for the Stoneworthy scheme.
RES has been working in the battery energy storage market for a decade, having developed over 700 MW of energy storage projects across the UK and Ireland, and designs safe storage projects using proven Lithium iron phosphate technology.
Stoneworthy energy storage proposal is expected to go before Torridge District Council’s Planning Committee in the coming months and, if consented, would take around 12 months to build.
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