Battery storage appeal dismissed over water pollution risk — SkimNews
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- Sky UK Development saw its appeal for a battery energy storage system (BESS) near Raymond's Hill in Axminster dismissed by Planning Inspectorate inspector RC Kirby, after East Devon District Council's planning committee had refused the plans last year.
- Sky UK Development proposed revised mitigation including larger water tanks, relocated tanks, and a 6m (20ft) separation between container pairs, but Kirby ruled these measures "would not be effective" in balancing harm against benefit.
- Opponents warned that water needed to fight a battery fire could run into a nearby waterway; the developer claimed it would take about eight years for such water to reach a drinking water source, but Kirby found "insufficient evidence" to support that timeline.
- Devon CPRE and the Hawkchurch and Monkton Wyld Action Group said they were "massively relieved," with Devon CPRE energy spokesperson Dr Phil Bratby noting the group had highlighted risks from hazardous materials and groundwater contamination "for years."
- Kirby acknowledged the scheme's benefits would "outweigh the moderate harm" to the Dorset National Landscape but ruled those benefits were "insufficient" given "very substantial, overriding, unacceptable risks" of water pollution.
- The UK government describes BESS systems — which use batteries such as lithium-ion to store electricity when supply exceeds demand — as important for "the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy."
Why it matters: Even with revised mitigation — larger water tanks and 6m container separation — a planning inspector can still block a BESS project over unproven water-pollution claims, a hurdle Devon CPRE says it has flagged for years at rural sites nationwide.
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