Cubico have put an in a scoping document for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Their promotional website is here:

https://rossendalebatterystorage.co.uk/

and we have downloaded the scoping document here:

EIA_SCREENING_FINAL_WITH_FIGURES-478879

This storage system would attract its own subsidies and provides the opportunity for Cubico to charge the battery with surplus electricity generated by their wind farm, even at times when they have been constrained off  by the grid operator NESO and so receive constraint payments. We have no information that this would be the strategy followed by Cubico but is a reasonable question to ask. Perhaps Cubico can get in touch and let us know whether they can rule out this possibility which in effect would allow them to charge us twice for the electricity they generate.

As the Renewable Energy Foundation points out concerning constraint payments:

Payments to wind farms to reduce output are an ongoing national scandal, with the cost to consumers now totalling well over £1 billion since the payments began in 2010.

Overall we have major concerns:

1. The direct subsidies the BESS could receive, via renewable programmes to tackle intermittency – which has to be passed on as costs to consumers.
2. The potential indirect subsidies via constraint payments will also be passed onto consumers.
3. The amount of land taken up by an increasing industrialisation of the landscape.
4. The real potential for explosions and fires such as the one in Liverpool, such fires being almost impossible to put out and releasing poisonous gasses over a wide area. The proposed site is directly adjacent to the main Edenfield Road and a couple of farms. It is also not that far from a sub-station. Therefore any fire would not only close the road and impact the farms but could affect the operation of the sub-station.
5. These installations provide very little grid backup, typically up to two hours only. Tellingly, by proposing this installation, Cubico are highlighting the major shortcoming of renewable energy policy, which is intermittency. There is no possibility of grid scale storage for anything other a small period of time. Therefore, this would be an expensive piece of sticking plaster when we should be looking at gas and nuclear for our base-load power.
6. The installations are full of rare earth metals and other materials mined in dangerous conditions.
7. Will the full carbon footprint of the production, installation and operation be taken into account? Note that current UK carbon accounting policy does not account for overseas emissions.

You can provide your comments to:

• ClaireBradley@rossendalebc.gov.uk

You may also want to send in comments to Cubico directly using the following email addresses:

• scoutmoor2@havingyoursay.co.uk
• Frances.Cosby@lexcomm.co.uk
• Peter.rowe@cubicoinvest.com