Plans to build another battery energy storage system to store energy from wind farms have been approved by Mid Sussex District Council.
The application from Lightrock Power for 2.3 acres of land at Coombe Farm, in Bob Lane, Twineham, was given the nod by the planning committee on Thursday (January 23).
In June 2024, the committee approved a similar application for 17.7 acres of land east of Wineham Lane, and in October 2024 for 27 acres of land, also at Coombe Farm.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) enable energy from renewables such as solar and wind to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.
This latest installation will comprise 52 battery storage cabinets housing Tesla Megapak 2XL lithium iron batteries. It will have capacity for up to 350MW of power and will take six months to complete.
It would be sited close to the 42-acres used by the Bolney National Grid Substation and the Rampion Offshore Wind substation.
Rodney Jackson (Lib Dem, Hurstpierpoint) said: “It’s been said that this is a necessary way of making use of the output from the wind farms when the demand is low. Obviously, from an energy efficiency point of view, this is a facility which is needed.”
While the objections to the previous two applications totalled in the hundreds, there were far fewer this time.
But Twineham Parish Council repeated the objections it had filed for the previous two applications, including the installation being too close to homes and being in conflict with the Rampion 2 cable route, along with concerns about the risk of fire.
Annie Hirst, chairman of Twineham Parish Council, said there were concerns that the views of the parish council were ‘not being listened to’.
The application was approved by nine votes to zero with two abstentions.
Work on the site has to start within seven years, rather than the usual three years, due to the complex nature of the project.
To view the application, log on to pa.midsussex.gov.uk and search for DM/23/1184.
