Six-acre battery farm planned near Midland Metro headquarters

A plan for a six-acre battery farm near the region’s metro headquarters has been submitted to a council. The new battery energy storage system will be built on six acres of land next to the Wednesbury Asphalt Plant, next to the Midlands Metro depot on Wednesbury Great Western Road.

The work would take between a year and 18 months, according to the application submitted to Sandwell Council by Gresham House Devco Pipeline. A new extended tube line from Wednesbury Great Western Street to Dudley via Great Bridge and Tipton is being built – less than 100 meters away from the proposed battery farm.

A typical battery farm provides 90 minutes of electricity for about 600 homes during “peak” periods. The “life” of the farm would be 40 years, according to the application. The work includes battery containers that would look like shipping containers, transformers, substations and associated access and drainage infrastructure. The battery farm would connect to the grid through a nearby substation in Ocker Hill.

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The application says “significant” parts of the land are at “medium” risk of flooding, according to the Environment Agency, and the northern boundary of the site, next to the River Tame, is in flood zone 3 – meaning it is at ” high risk of flooding. “The battery storage project must be in the proposed location due to the national grid capacity in the area due to its proximity to the station to the south west of the site,” the application also states.

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“Given the industrial built-up area and the lack of available sites, it is concluded that no other site in the vicinity of the electricity distribution station is reasonably available with a lower risk of flooding.” A statement included in the application said: “The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is designed to capture energy and use it at a predetermined later date.

“These systems complement intermittent energy sources such as wind, tidal and solar power in an attempt to balance energy production and consumption. In addition, (the storage system) can ensure system security by providing power during power outages; minimizing disruption and costs associated with power outages.

“The proposed development would help ensure that there is a reliable and constant supply of electricity across the National Grid transmission network.”