Eight Towers Battery Energy Storage System
Public Consultation
We recently held a public consultation event on Thursday 29th April at Penketh Community Centre, Meeting Lane, Penketh, Warrington, WA5 2BG. Thank you to all those who attended. You can access the brochure which was sent out to residents inviting them to the consultation event here.
We have reviewed all the comments received during and following the public consultation event and we have provided answers to some of the most common questions and concerns in the FAQs below.
Following community feedback at the recent consultation event, Green Nation has decided to rename the project Eight Towers BESS. This name pays tribute to the eight cooling towers of the Fiddler’s Ferry power station. Just as Fiddler’s Ferry played a vital role in supporting the national grid during periods of peak demand, Eight Towers BESS aims to continue that legacy - providing reliable backup power and enhancing energy resilience as we transition a cleaner, renewable energy future.
Introducing Eight Towers Battery Energy Storage System
Green Nation invites you to learn more about our proposals and to share your thoughts as part of our consultation process. We are proposing to develop a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on land to the south west of Station Road, Fiddler’s Ferry, Warrington, WA5 2UL.
The proposed facility will have a capacity of up to 250 megawatts (MWp) and be used to help stabilise the grid to ensure an efficient supply of energy to local homes and businesses. This would be achieved by storing electricity when there is a surplus in supply and then returning it to the network when demand is high, for example in the early evening. The facility can also provide current at very short notice when requested by the grid operators to help keep frequency and voltage stable when there are fluctuations in generation.
The project will be funded privately and will not be subsidised or require government funding.
Benefits of the proposed development
The facility will play an important part in speeding up the transition away from fossil fuels and it will help to support the Warrington Borough Council’s Green Energy Strategy.
The battery storage facility will fill gaps in the UK’s electricity supply by charging up when renewable energy is being produced (such as on windy, sunny days) and discharging energy back into the grid when needed (e.g. when the wind isn’t blowing, the sun isn’t shining, or we aren’t able to import energy from elsewhere).
Demand for grid energy storage is expected to rise by 20GWh by 2035. Eight Towers BESS will help with supplying this demand and aid the UK’s transition to a low carbon future.
Contribute to the enhancement of the local ecosystem, by creating biodiversity enhancements.
This is a temporary development and will be fully decomissioned at the end of its lifespan when the land will be returned to agricultural use.
The project is being brought forward by Green Nation. Since it’s formation in 2011, Green Nation has become one of the leading developers of rooftop solar panels for homes, schools and businesses in the UK. We also develop, construct and operate ground-mounted solar farms and battery storage facilities.
We manage solar farms and rooftop systems, generating millions of kilowatt hours of electricity annually for businesses, communities and neighbourhoods.
We have continued to grow and expand our base in the UK whilst maintaining our mission of providing affordable and sustainable energy for all.
Net Zero One Ltd has been established as a specialist development business to allow the funding of larger projects such as this, drawing on the expertise of Green Nation to fund, build, operate and ultimately decommission the development at the end of its life.
About Green Nation
Frequently Asked Questions
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There have been some questions over why we have chosen our site for these proposals. It is worth highlighting that the key driver of site selection is securing a grid connection offer. The National Grid is currently constrained, with significant demand for grid connection offers from developers and insufficient capacity in the grid to support the high volume of applications. Developers such as us, therefore, have limited choice in where they can choose to base their projects.
Given that Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station previously produced significant volumes of energy, the local energy infrastructure has more spare capacity to support renewable energy projects than many other parts of the country. Receiving a grid connection offer to the former power station is therefore the central driver of why we chose this area. We then sought a landowner willing to work with us and conducted a detailed feasibility process to identify a precise site. In this search, consideration was given to several factors including residential amenity, land availability, environmental designations, heritage assets, ecology and biodiversity, flood risk, agricultural land quality, landscape character, noise considerations, and transport considerations. This search culminating in identifying the proposed site.
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We will be submitting our planning application to Warrington Borough Council in June 2025. If we are granted consent, we would look to start construction in 2027. Site working would typically be Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings only.
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Once operational, the facility will have minimal impact on local traffic, with only occasional visits required for maintenance. During construction, traffic will be managed through a Construction Traffic Management Plan. This will include details of construction traffic numbers, vehicle routing and working hours.
As with all aspects of the development, we welcome input from the local community to help reduce any impact on local roads where possible.
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Access to the site will be provided via a new turning from Station Road. Vehicles will approach the site from the A562 down Tannery Lane and onto Station Road, before turning into the site. We are aware that some concern have been raised about this route, especially around Station Road.
We are currently working on a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) which will detail the anticipated traffic levels during construction as well as the mitigation measures we plan to adopt to reduce any potential impacts on the local area. This document will be publicly available on the Warrington Borough Council planning portal following submission and will hopefully go some way to assuage concerns about potential construction disruption.
It should be noted that, under the Town and Country Planning Act, Warrington Borough Council’s Highway Department will be a statutory consultee for this planning application. This means that if the department views the proposed site access as unsuitable, they can lodge an objection to it or recommend planning conditions that govern its use (e.g. that the developer must be responsible for the upkeep of the road, or particular restrictions on delivery times). There will be, therefore, a high degree of scrutiny to ensure that the construction access is safe, is suitable for HGVs and has a minimal impact on local traffic.
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The planning red line area covers a total of 9.8 hectares (24 acres), with 3.1 hectares (7.7 acres) of this making up the BESS compound area. There will be 129 batteries housed in containers which are typically 6.1m in length, 2.4m in width, and 3.4m in height including a plinth. Additionally, there will be 71 PCS and Transformer units housed in containers with the same dimensions as the BESS units, as well as an on-site substation. The site will be surrounded by a 2.1m high deer fence, made of timber and heavy galvanized steel wire. There will be 18 static cameras with a height of 3.2m around the perimeter of the site and 8 cameras within the substation compound. The site will have a total lifespan of 40 years.
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Planning conditions for renewable energy projects typically will include a provision that developers commit to a decommissioning and restoration strategy. This ensures that funds are available for the decommissioning of a project even if the developer has gone out of business. We are committed to providing for the creation and maintenance of a decommissioning bond, which will ensure that the BESS is safely dismantled and removed at the end of its operational life.
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The battery storage facility is a temporary development and will not change the land classification from agricultural greenfield to commercial/industrial brownfield. In effect, it will remain agricultural land when the proposed development has been decommissioned.
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The main noise associated with batteries are the cooling fans, which keep the batteries from overheating. Any noise generated will be low level and the batteries are not expected to be audible beyond the site boundary. Expected noise emissions will be measured against existing background noise levels to ensure the development will meet the relevant British Standards and World Health Organisation Noise Guidelines.
We conduct thorough noise evaluations for each site and implement various noise mitigation measures in our project plans. These measures, such as acoustic fencing and bunding, ensure that noise impacts are acceptable at nearby sensitive locations.
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Battery Energy Storage Systems are safe. We work hard throughout site design, construction and into operation to ensure the safety of our sites.
The technology used within the development will be rigorously tested and the site laid out to ensure compliance with all relevant fire safety guidance.
The batteries will be constantly monitored and in the unlikely event that a fire does occur, the facility will employ automatic fire detection and suppression systems.
We are also working with the local fire and rescue service to ensure suitable emergency response procedures are in place, including a Battery Fire Safety Management Plan.
Security measures on site include secure perimeter fencing and gated access. The site will be monitored by CCTV.
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Some feedback received has raised concerns relating to safety and fire risk at the site. While these concerns are completely understandable, it should be emphasised that the risk of fire is very low. The Faraday Institution cite evidence that only 1 in 40 million lithium-ion batteries suffer catastrophic cell failure leading to fire. Moreover, our battery energy storage systems are designed to adhere to stringent safety standards established by international regulatory bodies like the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). These comprehensive standards encompass various facets of battery storage systems, including installation, operation, and maintenance, to ensure their compliance with the highest safety protocols.
The batteries will be constantly monitored and in the unlikely event that a fire does occur, the facility will employ automatic fire detection and suppression systems. We are also working with the Warrington fire and rescue service to ensure suitable emergency response procedures are in place, including a Battery Fire Safety Management Plan.
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The aims of the consultation were as follows:
· To raise awareness of the proposals within the local community and gain insights based on their local knowledge.
· To gain a firm understanding of any potential issues arising from the proposal that may affect the local community.
· To ensure the local community had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals.
· To allow us to make appropriate revisions to the scheme where practical and possible in response to specific feedback and comments.
A brochure and invite for the public consultation event was sent out on 17 April 2025 to 937 properties located close to the proposed development. We also contacted and invited members of Penketh Parish Council, the site ward councillors Cllr Jacob Barnard, Cllr Geoffrey Fellow and Cllr Eunice Peters (Penketh & Cuerdley Ward), Cllr Hans Mundry (Leader of Warrington Borough Council), Cllr Hitesh Patel (Warrington Borough Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Sustainability, and the Environment), and Sarah Hall MP (MP for Warrington South).
117 local residents attended the public consultation event, and we have received feedback from 51 separate residents which we are currently collating. This feedback will be used to shape the final scheme design of the project. It will also form part of a Statement of Community Involvement, which will be publicly available on the Warrington Borough Council Planning Portal post-submission.
Project Timeline
April & May 2025
Pre-Submission Consultation
May & June 2025
Finalise Proposed Design
June 2025
Submit Planning Application
Approx. 13 weeks from validation of application
Planning Decision
2027
Construction
(if granted approval)
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