Green light recommended for energy storage plans

Plans for a 50 megawatt (MW) energy storage facility in Leeds are set to move forward with councillors recommended to approve the scheme at a meeting later this week (22 November 2018).CJ Energy, supported by Spectrum Solicitors, submitted plans to Leeds City Council in 2017 to build the energy storage system on land currently used for caravan storage.The proposed first stage of the development will occupy a 22,600 sq ft section of land within the caravan storage park, with an additional 25,000 sq ft of space for the associated sub stations.The land would be occupied by 25 metal containers that are 40 ft long, 8 ft wide and 9.5 ft tall each containing racks of batteries, a fire suppressant system, an air conditioning system and a power management system.The facility would provide battery storage of up to 49.9MW of electrical energy, which would be taken from the National Grid to be fed back in during times of need. The application will go before the council’s South and West Plans Panel on 22 November and is recommended for approval, subject to conditions.