Pembroke battery energy storage facility progresses

Plans for a 350MW battery energy storage facility at Pembroke Power Station have taken a step forward.RWE Generation UK has submitted a request for an EIA scoping onion to Pembrokeshire County Council for the battery energy storage system (BESS)Proposed is a BESS facility, ancillary equipment and associated cables with a grid connection import and export capacity of 350MW.RWE proposes the development on land within its ownership boundary at Pembroke Power Station which covers an area of approximately 94 acres. Beginning commercial operation in September 2012, Pembroke Power Station is a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) station.Documents submitted as part of the application said that RWE Generation UK’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) would support the decarbonisation of the power generation sector by storing energy at times of excess generation. They said that the energy stored can be discharged at a later time displacing fossil fuel generation.The documents said that batteries provide grid stability services such as reactive power and fast response to manage voltage and frequency services.They added that locations further afield from the national grid substation are not within RWE Generation’s UK landholding and would be likely to require compulsory acquisition powers which would “not be justifiable”RWE will also engage with the local community as part of the consultation process to explain the proposed development and its likely significant effects and to take into account any feedback received.An environmental statement will include a summary of the pre-application public consultation carried out and a consultation report will form part of the suite of documents to be submitted with a planning application.On 7 September 2023, Pembrokeshire County Council adopted its screening opinion in respect of the proposed development. It stated that the scheme does require environmental impact assessment due to the project, cumulatively with other development in the locality, being likely to have significant effects on the environment in respect of ecological and visual/landscape impact.RWE is an energy company holding a diverse portfolio of wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, biomass and gas, with four main operating companies in the UK, including RWE Generation UK.