Plans lodged for flexible energy storage facility at former power station site

An application for what is thought to be the largest battery energy storage system currently being planned in the UK, has been submitted to Doncaster Council.

Renewable energy, minerals and property firm, The Banks Group, wants to create a new flexible energy storage hub through the reclamation and restoration of part of the former Thorpe Marsh power station site, near Doncaster.

The Banks project team has reviewed the feedback gathered at the initial consultation event on the scheme, held late last year in Barnby Dun, which sits to the east of the proposed project site.

The firm’s next, appointment-only community surgery on the project takes place from 4pm-8pm on 16 February at the Jubilee Hall on Bentley High Street.

Lewis Stokes, senior community relations manager at The Banks Group, said “This is a nationally significant scheme that will put South Yorkshire at the forefront of developments in the increasingly important energy storage industry, and we’re excited to have reached this stage in its realisation.

“The response we’ve had to our ideas from local people, businesses and community leaders so far has been very encouraging and we’ll continue to speak with as many people as we can in the coming months about everything that this project would deliver.”

The Thorpe Marsh Green Energy Hub could store up to 2.8GWhrs of energy, which is enough to supply around 340,000 households with electricity for one day.

Itwould be used to ensure reliable and stable electricity grid operation at times of peak demand, helping to improve the UK’s energy security over the long-term.

It would feature integrated environmental enhancements, including wetlands, woodlands and species-rich grassland, while other economic and social benefits would also follow from its development.

A separate planning application to complete the reclamation of the power station’s former ash disposal area through the recovery of up to 2.25 million tonnes of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) over a four-year period will be finalised in the coming months.

As part of the overall scheme, the existing rail connection on the site would be recommissioned to ensure the primary method of removing material from the site or receiving deliveries could be by rail, rather than by lorries on local roads.

Banks hopes to have the energy hub up and running by the end of 2028 if approval is granted.

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