Plans for a battery energy storage site near Carlisle have been given the go-ahead.
Immersa wants to create the facility on land to the south of Cargo Beck House in Cargo.
The 3.2 hectare site will include up to 176 battery storage units, with a capacity of up to 200 MW.
Immersa said: “The current proposed battery units would have the appearance similar to standard shipping containers and have a height comparable to shipping containers.”
It will see 50% connected to the nearby Harker substation via underground cables and 50% by pylons.
The proposed route has yet to be finalised, but Immersa said there would be no new overhead lines/pylons required for the development.
If approved, the facility will be in place for a maximum of 40 years.
Within the Hadrian’s Wall buffer zone, it is next to Cargo Beck and the River Eden is around 290m to the south east.
An archaeological evaluation will have to carried out before work starts.
The council’s historic environment officer said: “The site lies in an area rich in prehistoric remains with an Iron Age hillfort located to the south, a Romano-British farmstead at Cargo village and enigmatic cropmarks in the fields adjacent to the site that could date to any period.”
Cumberland Council’s proposed condition said: “No development shall commence within the site until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the local planning authority.”
Members of Cumberland Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the scheme this week after it was moved for approval by Councillor Andrew Semple (Cockermouth South, Labour) and seconded by Councillor John Mallinson (Houghton and Irthington, Conservative).
