Renewable energy developers, Windel Energy, and Recurrent Energy have announced they have submitted a planning application to Dorset Council for the development of a 150MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
The application – a joint project between Windel Energy and Recurrent Energy – could see the development of the Buckland Energy Storage Site (BESS) located near Buckland Ripers, Weymouth and which would be connected to Chickerell substation via underground cabling.
Speaking about the application, Jamie Knott, MD at Windel Energy said, “This is a very positive development proposal which has the potential to support local and national renewable energy generation, strengthen the resilience of the National Grid and support Dorset Council’s climate goals.
“We very much look forward to working both with the council and the local community to bring this scheme to life, deliver real environmental and community benefits and help drive the transition to a more sustainable future.”
Harry Wilder, Head of BD UK at Recurrent Energy added, “This exciting project has the potential to significantly strengthen the National Grid and energy infrastructure in Dorset, supporting and facilitating the transition to renewable energy generation and a more sustainable future in the UK.”
If approved, Buckland BESS will support the reliability and responsiveness of the National Grid, increasing its capacity for the integration of intermittent renewable generation by storing electricity for when demand is highest.
Buckland BESS is in line with Dorset Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency declaration in 2019, acknowledging the need for sustainable forms of development across the district and this project would help the council achieve its renewable energy targets.
Key Benefits of Buckland BESS include:
- Increased Energy Resilience: The storage system allows the National Grid to store excess electricity at times of peak generation and release this back to the grid at times of peak demand
- Support for Renewable Energy: The BESS will facilitate the transition to a greener electricity network by ensuring that intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar, can be stored and used efficiently
- Carbon Reduction Contribution: Buckland BESS will enable the National Grid to reduce its reliance on fossil-fuelled energy and help transition to green, sustainable energy.
Founded in 2018, Windel Energy is a privately held company, specialising in the origination, development and asset management of renewable energy projects and low carbon disruptive technologies. Windel Energy has more than 1.5GW of clean, renewable solar power, 3GW of battery energy storage and 150MW of onshore wind at various stages of development.
Recurrent Energy is one of the world’s largest and most geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage project development, ownership and operations platforms. With an industry-leading team of in-house energy experts, Recurrent Energy is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. and function as Canadian Solar’s global development and power services business. Recurrent Energy has completed the development of 11GWp of operating utility-scale solar projects and 3.7GWh of energy storage projects across six continents. Recurrent Energy has a global pipeline of 29GWp of solar PV and 64 GWh of energy storage.