Renewable energy company RES has been given the go-ahead to build a new energy storage project in County Durham after the Council’s planning committee voted to approve the scheme.
Spennymoor Energy Storage System is situated on land to the south of an existing electrical substation.
The new 99.9MW facility will store electricity at times when generation exceeds demand, and release electricity back to the grid network when demand exceeds generation.
It will facilitate the deployment of new wind, solar and other renewables which will be central to achieving the Government’s net zero commitments as well as enabling more energy to be generated domestically, improving security of supply.
RES head of energy storage Alan McMahon said: “We are very pleased that Durham County Council has chosen to back this important infrastructure, which has been carefully sited and designed to optimise the land available for development.
“Energy storage systems like the Spennymoor project are essential for a stable and secure electricity system; the resilience of which is crucial for the UK’s future energy security.”
Spennymoor Energy Storage System has been designed to include planting of new native woodland, species-rich grassland and the creation of a pond, which will provide a plentiful source of food and shelter for a range of fauna species.
Invertebrate boxes, hedgehog houses and bat boxes are also proposed with all of these measures leading to a biodiversity net gain of 25%.