Three separate bids for Angus battery plants capable of storing power for tens of thousands of homes have passed their first planning hurdle.
Proposal of Application Notices for farmland sites near Arbroath and in the Sidlaws went before the council’s development control committee on Tuesday.
Two of the bids are for facilities of around 50 Megawatt capacity.
They hold energy from renewable sources such as wind or solar power to be fed back into the grid when required.
A PAN is the first stage of the planning process for major applications.
Where are the latest applications?
Arbroath
Applicant: OPDE UK Ltd
Site: Prime agricultural land 150m south of Annfield Cottage, Brax, west of the town.
Battery storage site capacity not specified.
Two public consultation events planned at Webster Theatre, Arbroath or a similar accessible location.
A project website will be set up and a letter drop carried out for properties within 500m of the site.
Birkhill
Applicant: Mabbett Planning and Design
Site: Prime agricultural land 200m west of Templeton Farm, Birkhill.
Proposal: Energy storage system up to 49.9MW with associated works.
Two public consultation events to be held at Birkhill Hall and a project website will be set up.
Tealing
Applicant: LoganPM Ltd
Site: 3.8 hectares of agricultural land at Moatmill Bridge, Tealing.
Proposal: Storage facility up to 50MW, equipment compound, fencing, security cameras, new belt of native trees and landscaping on land at Moatmill Bridge.
Two public consultation events to be held at Tealing Hall.
Planning applications for major developments cannot be submitted within 12 weeks of a PAN being lodged.
Angus officials highlighted the sort of issues which are likely to be important factors in determining the three bids.
Those include:
- Locational justification
- Soil quality, farm viability and potential land contamination
- Landscape and visual impact, including cumulative impact
- Residential and recreational amenity impact
- Ecological impact, including disturbance, displacement and habitat loss and/or opportunities for habitat improvement
- Built and cultural heritage impacts
- Infrastructure, including the public road network and specifically the trunk road network
- Flood risk
- Electricity transmission arrangements
- Site decommissioning and restoration
- Contribution to energy generation targets.
Detailed applications are expected to come before the council in due course.
Do battery plants already exist in Angus?
A site on the edge of Arbroath was one of the first battery storage developments approved in the district.
Since then a number of applications have come forward.
Those include a 50MW scheme at Whitehills on the outskirts of Forfar.
It received the green light from councillors in 2021 in the face of strong local objection, but is yet to progress.
And plans for an 80MW plant near Kellas were lodged with the authority last year.
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