“Border Town’s Battery Power System Overcomes Planning Hurdle”
Up to 132 units could be built under plans in the Borders
Plans for a giant Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the Borders have advanced.
The Scottish Borders Council has decided not to oppose the proposals but has suggested imposing a number of conditions.
The Scottish Government will have the final say on Zenobe Energy’s proposals at Eccles.
The program envisages installing up to 132 large units to store electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
The approximately 37 m (120 ft) long and 16 m (50 ft) wide units would be located near a substation in the area.
Developers Zenobe said that once operational, it would be one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe and make a “significant contribution” to meeting CO2 reduction targets.
The development would not generate electricity, but instead provide a place to import, store and export it to meet the needs of the national grid.
The Borders is home to a large number of wind farms and the site would be able to store energy for use when the turbines are not spinning.
A report to councilors said this would result in some “minor landscape and visual impacts”.
However, it concluded that it could help meet national energy targets and achieve a net-zero transition.
Planning committee chairman Simon Mountford said it was “vital infrastructure” and a consequence of the shift to more renewable energy.
Broader investment
“If the wind doesn’t blow, we don’t get electricity,” he said.
“It is therefore important that we have the storage options in the battery infrastructure.
“I would probably expect that we will have more of these applications in the years to come.”
The project is part of a proposed £750m investment by Zenobe across Scotland with other sites at Blackhillock in Moray and Kilmarnock South.
If approved, it is hoped that work on the Borders program could begin later this year and become operational in early 2026.
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