Energy firm reveal plans for huge plant by A2 in Kent

An energy firm has revealed plans for a huge plant to be located on land in Kent. The energy storage plant has been earmarked for green belt land and would be the size of seven-and-a-half football pitches.

EcoDev has submitted a planning application for the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility, which is now being considered by Dartford Borough Council. Located off Foxhounds Lane in Southfleet, near Gravesend, it would store enough energy to power more than 124,000 homes, planning documents say.

It would have a storage capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) and EcoDev hopes it will serve as “enabling technology for renewable [energy] generation” in the area. The firm writes: “There is an ever-increasing requirement and reliance on renewable forms of energy generation, such as wind and solar, to supply the UK’s energy demands.

“To meet these demands developments of scale need to be embraced in order to secure and protect energy supplies for the future.” It would be built on farmland, where there is currently a barn used for storage, between the village and the A2.

The plans include room for 140 battery units and inverters, 70 transformers, a new access road, a storage facility and a substation. It would cover about 10 acres – the equivalent of seven-and-a-half standard 11-a-side football pitches.

Native species of plants, trees and hedgerows would be planted to improve biodiversity, planning documents explain. Such developments are “an essential component to obtaining net zero and furthering energy security,” the applicant writes.

EcoDev continued: “The site will be unmanned during operation and will be operated remotely with only rare maintenance visits.” Contractors will visit “typically less than twice per month,” it said.

“Online monitoring of performance and identification of issues will be provided on a 24-hour basis. Given the compound is unmanned there is no requirement for permanent lighting; the only lighting will be Infra Red (IR) invisible for night vision for the security cameras.”

The council's jurisdiction is 53% metropolitan green belt – where stricter planning rules apply – due to its proximity to the London Borough of Bexley. Elsewhere in Kent, Swale Borough Council voted in February to reject a safety plan for a BESS of 150 MW, only half the size of the one proposed at Southfleet.

Part of the Cleve Hill Solar Farm – set to be the UK’s biggest – the controversial installation was beset by opposition from its inception. As a nationally-significant infrastructure project, permission for the farm at Graveney, near Faversham, was granted by the government, but Swale council had to vote on the safety plans for the BESS.

After almost four hours of debate, the council refused the plan, sending the developers back to the drawing board.