'Fire risk' fears over battery energy storage park

A proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) on farmland would have a "very high risk" of catching fire, campaigners have said.

Green energy company NatPower has unveiled plans for the plant near East Rounton, between Northallerton and Yarm.

However, members of the Against Battery Storage: East Rounton, Picton, Crathorne, West Rounton Area group said the facility would have a 27% chance of catching fire in any one year.

NatPower rejected the claim and said the safety of its BESS was of "paramount importance".

Battery storage systems use batteries to store electricity generated at times of low demand, with the operators selling the energy back to the National Grid at peak times.

The campaign group has submitted a 33-page report objecting to the proposed facility, which would have had a capacity of about 1,000 megawatts.

The group said figures on incidents at battery storage schemes around the world showed there were more than 70 fires at plants between 2018 and 2023.

Campaigners also claimed the scheme contravened fire safety regulations on a number of points, including space between battery containers, the water supply to the site and access to the development.

Their report concluded: "The risk of fire on a site this big is very high.

"This is new technology. The rarity of BESS fires up to now is due to the rarity of BESS sites, not a lack of risk."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the claims were rejected by NatPower, which had also submitted plans to build a similar scheme near South Kilvington, Thirsk.

The company said it was engaging with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, local authority environmental health teams and other statutory bodies, "to ensure our designs meet the health and safety requirements set by local and national policy".

A spokesperson said safety measures would be built into its battery design, including a fire suppression system, which would only operate in the "very unlikely" event of the batteries overheating.

Campaigners are set to hold a public meeting at 19:00 GMT in Rountons Village Hall, to discuss how to fight the plans.

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