Paragraph 48 Battery energy storage system

(1)

No authorised work comprising a battery energy storage system (“BESS”) may have a capacity of more than 10 megavolt-amperes.

(2)

Any such authorised work must—

(a)

be located at least 25 metres from—

(i)

any building or structure used by persons other than those responsible for its operation or maintenance, and

(ii)

the boundary of the Order land;

(b)

be separated from any specified habitat or riparian protection zone by at least 10 metres;

(c)

be sealed, with an impermeable base or layer beneath the battery unit compound and a drainage system that prevents the discharge of polluted water to bodies of groundwater or watercourses or other bodies of surface water;

(d)

have sufficient capacity to accommodate the storage of contaminated fire water in the event of a fire;

(e)

have an automated valve or penstock to contain any contaminated fire water;

(f)

be located and designed so as to ensure that—

(i)

access at the location enables firefighters to operate unimpeded;

(ii)

the air flow to, or exhaust from, the BESS and its components is not obstructed or inhibited;

(g)

have an explosion control or other system to address deflagration hazards.

(3)

If the BESS includes static water storage tanks designed to be used for firefighting, they must be located at least 10 metres away from the BESS container or cabinet and clearly marked with appropriate signage.

(4)

In deciding the location and design of a BESS, the site controller must have regard to the most recent guidance issued on the planning of such systems by the UK National Fire Chiefs Council^f1.

(5)

Within 20 working days of the completion of such procedures and tests in relation to a BESS as constitute, at the time they are undertaken, the usual industry standards and practices for demonstrating that the BESS is capable of commercial operation, the site controller must provide to the fire and rescue authority, as defined in section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004^f2, for the area that includes the Order land—

(a)

details of the type of batteries, number of batteries and capacity of each battery comprised in the BESS;

(b)

a plan of the area around the BESS, showing—

(i)

the location of the BESS within the utility compound;

(ii)

access routes for emergency responders;

(iii)

the location of hydrant supplies or static water tanks, with details of their total capacity and delivery capability.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: At the date on which the Order is made, Grid Scale Battery Energy Storage System planning – Guidance for FRS, dated 1 November 2022, available from the National Fire Chiefs Council, 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, or online at https://nfcc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Grid-Scale-Battery-Energy-Storage-System-planning-Guidance-for-FRS.pdf.
f2: 2004 c. 21. Section 1 was amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, Schedule 1, Part 1, and Schedule 2, paragraphs 110 and 111, and by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (c. 36), Schedule 2, paragraph 10(1) and (2) and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55), section 56 and Schedule 4, paragraph 157.