Work begins on battery energy storage near Hinkley Point C park and ride site
Construction work has begun on a new battery energy storage facility near one of the Hinkley Point C park and ride sites.
Battery energy storage facilities take power from the National Grid during times of low demand, store it and then release it back into the power grid at times of higher demand.
Conrad Energy secured planning permission from West Somerset Council in February 2023 to construct such a facility on Smithyard Lane to the west of Williton, a few hundreds yards from the park and ride facility on the B3190 Washford Hill.
More than four years on from this decision, the Abingdon-based company – which recently secured permission to upgrade the power grid near Somerset’s new ‘gigafactory’ – has broken ground at the Williton site, meaning the facility will be operational by the summer of 2027.
The new facility will be constructed at the northern end of Smithyard Lane, between the existing gas distribution station and Outmoor Wood.
The facility will have a 15MW capacity – meaning it can provide power for up to 9,000 local homes, providing additional grid stability and helping to meet Somerset Council’s aim of Somerset being a carbon-neutral county by 2030.
Mike Denman, senior project manager at Conrad Energy, said: “We are delighted to be breaking ground on this important site.
“Battery energy storage, and other energy storage, will play a vital role in advancing the energy transition, ensuring we have the energy we need when renewables aren’t generating and also ensuring energy doesn’t go to waste when demand is low.
“Now that spades are in the ground, we can look forward to more positive progress on the project and to have the site in operation by the close of 2027.”
Numerous other battery energy storage sites are being delivered across Somerset, either to aid the green transition or to provide additional grid capacity for new housing or employment sites.
Huntley Wood Investments Ltd. secured outline permission in October 2021 to deliver a similar facility at the western edge of the former Wansborough Paper Mill site on the B3191 Brendon Road in Watchet.
A battery storage facility will also be delivered as part of a new solar farm north of Tropiquaria Zoo near Washford, which was approved on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate in May 2024.