Plans submitted by Clearstone Energy for battery storage facility off Station Road in Southfleet near A2 and Millbrook Garden Centre
Residents are divided over proposals to build one of the country’s biggest battery energy storage systems (BESS) at the edge of a village.
The final plans for the 300-megawatt facility, which could hold enough power for hundreds of thousands of homes, have been drawn up by Clearstone Energy.
The London-based firm has submitted its proposals for the £200 million project, dubbed the Dartford Energy Hub, on farmland off Station Road, between Southfleet and Northfleet, to Dartford council.
If approved, it would see rows of batteries alongside a substation and access roads near the A2 with a cable connected to the nearby Northfleet substation.
Development manager at Clearstone Energy, Sam Thomson, says schemes like this are “vital” if the country is to meet its climate change targets.
He added: “Battery storage projects such as the Dartford Energy Hub will help us make the most of our wind and solar farms and reduce our reliance on gas-fired power stations.
“The project would be capable of storing energy equivalent to one hour of power for all the homes in Dartford, Gravesham and Sevenoaks boroughs and provide increased security of energy supply for the local area.
“We have worked to incorporate feedback and ensure the project is sympathetic to the local area.”
The facility, near the Pepper Hill tip and Millbrook Garden Centre, would store excess electricity when generation from solar and wind farms is higher than demand and release it back into the grid when it is needed.
It is said the project would displace 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from gas-fired power plants each year, equivalent to planting 1.9 million trees, a factor many residents favour.
At the time of writing, eight letters had been submitted in support of the application with many saying BESSs are “a necessity for the future”.
One resident of Red Street, Southfleet, said: “This scheme provides a much-needed storage facility to increase the ability to generate electricity from renewable sources, so, is an important part of reducing greenhouse emissions.”
Another of Highfield Road, Dartford, added: “This is a vitally important project which will contribute both to local and national power security, environmental protection and economic growth.
“Projects of this kind are key to the successful economic future of the UK and the decarbonisation of our planet.”
Not everyone is convinced, however, and six people have objected to the scheme raising concerns over the use of green belt and farming land, the suitability of roads to support vehicles coming to and from the facility and the safety of BESSs.
Clearstone Energy says there are “very special circumstances” allowing it to build on the green belt and due to the existing commercial and industrial uses around the site, the openness of the location has already been “diminished”.
It added: “The proposed development’s infrastructure has been situated in such a way as to avoid sprawling into the green belt.”
A public consultation was held last year and following feedback, the landscaping proposals have been updated to screen potential views and data has been incorporated into the construction traffic plans to not add to existing congestion.
A decision is expected by April 14 and if approved, the facility is expected to take around 12 to 15 months to build.
According to the submitted planning documents, the scheme would have a lifespan of 40 years and become operational in 2028.
To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.
Last month, council officers rejected a similar plan for a BESS on land off Foxhounds Lane, in Southfleet, as there were no special circumstances to justify the development on the green belt.
They said the extent of the scheme would conflict with the fundamental aim of national policy to protect the countryside from encroachment.