Bexley energy storage facility on greenfield land plans

If approved by Bexley Council, the facility, which is nearly equal to the size of four football pitches, would operate for a temporary period of 40 years on land between the A2 and Dartford Road.

The proposal has been put forth by Firstway Energy, a UK based energy storage developer with a portfolio of sites across England and Wales.

The purpose of the facility, which has up to 212 megawatts of electrical capacity, is to take energy from the electricity grid when supply is high and demand is low, and feed it back when supply is low and demand is high.

The facility would be linked to the National Grid via the Hurst Grid Substation which is located approximately 400 metres south of the development site.

Plans state that the facility is predicted to take up to 12 months to construct.

As part of pre-application consultation, Firstway engaged with the local community to gather the views and feedback from residents on the storage system plans.

Several concerns were raised, including worries about the effects of construction, traffic, the facility’s effect on the green belt and wildlife plus its visual impact

Many residents criticised the notion that the land would be returned to its original state after 40 years of use.

One commented: “I am sorry to say that the claim that in 40 years the site will be returned to its current state is without evidence and in fact, ridiculous.

“Firstly, demand for electricity storage will not fall away in 40 years although it may have become more efficient land use wise. Secondly, should it be decommissioned, the land is then classified as ‘brownfield’ and will be repurposed as housing or other industrial land.”

Firstway has stated that after the 40-year period, a decommissioning and restoration plan would be submitted to Bexley Council in order to confirm details of the site’s full restoration.

It also said that the land would revert back to being greenfield land, not brownfield.

Some residents raised health concerns, fearing that living close to an energy storage facility increases the risk of children developing leukaemia and adults developing dementia.

In response, Firstway stated energy storage systems are “safe to construct and operate” and storage units do not produce electromagnetic fields, gasses, pollution or chemicals during operation.

Fire safety was another chief concern.

One resident commented: “Energy storage systems, especially those utilising lithium-ion batteries, pose significant safety risks, including the potential for thermal runaway, fires and explosions.

“The close proximity of the proposed site to residential areas raises serious alarms about what could happen in the event of a malfunction or emergency. There have been over 30 recorded serious thermal runaways in battery energy storage systems (BESS) worldwide. In 2020 a 20MWh BESS in Liverpool took over 11 hours to contain and resulted in an explosion and release of toxic gases.”

Firstway repeated that energy storage systems are “safe to construct and operate” and also said that it had engaged in discussions with the London Fire Brigade. It also said: “Each battery cell/container has inbuilt fire suppression measures within it, such as foam, to manage fire.

“The water tanks are used as a last line of defence in the design of the layout to minimise fire spread. This is achieved by applying water around the cell / container to cool the air in order to minimise the ‘thermal runway’ (e.g. the spread of fire by heat), rather than the water being applied to the electrical equipment directly.”

To see the full plans, view the entry on Bexley Council’s planning portal.