People living in a South Cumbrian hamlet have accused developers of putting greed over need after two battery storage systems were given the go-ahead.
Two separate firms lodged applications in December for the facilities in the area of Old Hutton, near Kendal.
Harmony MS Ltd wants to create an 144-battery facility on land south of Eskrigg Road and Net Zero Nineteen wants to install around 100 battery units on land between Eskrigg End Road and Old Hutton.
Both would have an operational life of around 40 years.
They were both granted permission by Westmorland & Furness Council’s strategic planning committee last month.
Residents have vowed to continue to fight the schemes.
They said they will make sure the developers stick to conditions of their planning approval and have also scheduled a meeting with the authority’s planning department.
People spoke at the meeting to object and the parish council also raised concerns.
They are worried about the vehicle movements during construction, potential flooding and harm to the landscape.
One objector said: “This application and the substation would constitute a development bigger than the largest industrial estate in Kendal. The total built area of the two sites and substation would be 12.8 hectares which is almost the same as one of the industrial estates.”
At the meeting, councillors said they felt conflicted about Net Zero Nineteen’s plans, as they understood the need for the development and supported the drive for net zero, but were trying to balance this with suitability of the location of the site.
However, the application was passed with eight votes in favour, none against and no abstentions.
Nick Turley, head of Old Hutton Primary School, told the committee he was concerned about increased traffic during construction being a safety risk to pupils, the risk of pollution and impact of perception of the school.
He said: “What parent will feel comfortable sending their child to a school next to an industrial energy facility — past construction sites, HGVs, and warning signs?”
One resident told Cumbria Crack: “Westmorland and Furness Council has been negligent and short-sighted in its conviction that this is a ‘green energy’ development that will benefit Kendal.
“Any benefits in terms of energy resilience will be shared across the whole of the North West. It will create no local jobs – and carries no local benefits.
“There is a need for battery storage but it belongs on brownfield or industrial sites, not on sites where it will dominate the village and be a blight for the next 40 years.
“This development is driven by greed not need.”
A battery storage compound consists of batteries that can store energy and are able to release or absorb energy from the power network.
They would help balance out demand on the National Grid.
When there is not enough power, during periods of high demand, batteries are discharged to balance under frequency preventing black and brown outs. To balance over frequency batteries are charged to store electricity which is not required at the time of generation.
Typically, each battery unit is around 3m tall and the facilities have infrastructure, including a control room and storage containers.
Harmony wants to develop around 10.9ha of undulating farmland, with a developable area of around 3.9ha.
It is around 0.5km north of Old Hutton and Middleshaw is around 800m west of the site.
Its facility would have a capacity of 200MW – typically capable of powering 500,000 homes for four hours when fully charged.
Harmony said the site would be ‘visually contained’ by proposed native woodland to the northern, eastern and southern boundaries and building it on lower ground, following existing contours of the land, would minimise visibility.
Net Zero Nineteen wants to create its battery storage facility on land at Eskrigg End Road, which would provide up to 100MW of capacity.
There is an existing National Grid substation on the 9.56ha site, which is around 750m east of Middleshaw and 350m north of Old Hutton.
It said although the exact design had yet to be confirmed, the facility would be capable of powering up to 323,795 homes.
If it gets the go-ahead, it could be connected to the National Grid as early as 2027.
