Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Sites

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites tend to be long lease opportunities for landowners. The landowner will enter into an Option Agreement with a developer. The developer has the opportunity to obtain a grid connection and planning permission on the site if they haven’t already done so. Once these are in place, the Option Agreement is triggered and the lease is entered into. The development is put up and runs during the lease period. 

Battery storage together with solar opportunities are very much driven by the government targets as they look to reduce the carbon footprint in the move towards net zero. Battery storage works by capturing and storing energy generated from renewable technologies or they can work independently of renewable source by storing energy from the grid. 

The principles are straightforward:

– Batteries are charged either from a connected energy production unit e.g. solar, wind, gas or energies taken from the grid.

– The batteries are then on hand to give the grid extra capacity during peak demand or to increase the overall capacity.

– Battery storage can be a great solution for evening the supply and demand issues attached to the renewable energy market.

This option may not be for everyone, but where it is viable it can provide an additional source of income into a farming business without a wide scale change in farming practice.

The site area requirement is minimal and often two or three acres is sufficient. Leasing land for battery storage is paid on a rent per megawatt in the region of £1,800 to £2,000 per mega-watt, providing a potential income in some cases, in excess of £30,000 per acre.

On farm self-investment battery storage systems can also be an option for some landowners. 

The key to opening a battery storage opportunity is the grid connection and whether there is access to the sub-station. Once this has been identified the sub-station must have capacity to accommodate a site.

Where to start:

– Is the land near a 33kV grid line? The key to a successful renewable energy project is whether a cost-effective connection from the land to the grid can be readily secured. If the grid connection is on owned land, things become much easier, otherwise third-party access agreements would be required, which adds complexity and cost.

– Grid connection: There needs to be access to a sub-station and the sub-station needs to have the infrastructure and capacity to accommodate battery storage.

– Booking capacity: If the grid connection is available with capacity, then this connection needs to be booked to secure the project.

– Planning: Once a suitable site has been chosen and grid connection confirmed with capacity, the site/project would then require planning permission.

Berrys is successful in advising clients on energy projects and able to help with the initial processes that must take place for the site and projects to be viable. We have the expertise to support landowners to ensure that they achieve the best deal in relation to energy storage projects with or without with solar parks.

Please do contact us to discuss how we can assist with making energy and sustainability a part of your property.