Concerns over battery energy storage fire risks

Firefighters should be consulted more over planned battery energy storage (BES) sites because of the risks of fire and explosion as well as electrical hazards, Staffordshire's police, fire and crime commissioner has said.

Ben Adams said planning applications for the storage facilities were becoming increasingly common as part of the drive towards net zero.

He said while risks were not as great as some residents feared, it was a growing concern.

Mr Adams said some developers were not engaging with the fire service during the planning process.

According to the fire service's community risk management plan, BES systems present "significant risks" to fire services because of the potential for fire and explosion, and the presence of '"complex electrical hazards".

Questioned by the public in a discussion about the plan, Mr Adams suggested greater engagement with the county's fire service during planning would help address concerns.

He said it was "probably one of the biggest issues for local people at the moment".

The commissioner said: "There are a tremendous amount of planning applications going in for battery storage and photovoltaic energy generation. It does raise concerns.

"At the moment it is with the planning authorities to consider all the building controls."

Mr Adams said the primary concern for the fire service was whether crews could get to and move around a site and that sites are correctly distanced from other things.

He said national fire chiefs had established protocols that fire services should be available to developers during the planning stage, adding: "Most do have that conversation, but not all of them do, and not all planning authorities are making sure that happens."

Concerns around fire safety stems from the lithium within the batteries, which can cause an explosion when it overheats.

In September 2020, a fire at a BES site in Liverpool took 59 hours to extinguish, and created a "significant blast", Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service said.

The blaze on Carnegie Road "appears to be the first significant fire of its type to occur within the UK", according to the fire service's significant incident report.

The initial suspected cause was deemed to be "accidental ignition caused by a lithium battery failure transitioning into thermal runaway".

Thermal runaway occurs when too much heat is generated within a battery.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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