Farming Monthly National September 2017 | Page 41

| Energy
Potential battery site

Discover your battery storage opportunities ahead of your neighbours

By Hugh Taylor , CEO of Roadnight Taylor , The Independent Power Consultancy .
About Hugh Hugh Taylor is CEO of Roadnight Taylor , the independent power consultancy . Roadnight Taylor ’ s expertise spans technologies ( including battery storage , gas gensets and renewables ) and scales . Their unique approach ensures that land and property owners maximise the energy opportunities available to them . Hugh sits on the expert connections panels for four of the six Distribution Network Operators , has a deep understanding of National Grid ’ s Capacity Market and its balancing services markets , is a regular consultee to BEIS and Ofgem , and is a popular speaker at farming and energy industry events .

T he rapidly changing UK energy system is creating exciting opportunities for farmers . Hosting battery storage schemes on as little as one acre of land , can offer farmers ground rents of over £ 100,000 per year for 15-25 year leases . Act ahead of neighbours and independently from developers

Battery storage schemes need to connect to the electricity grid . However , capacity to import and export electricity on the grid is becoming scarce .
To enjoy the incomes from battery storage , farmers must identify if they have a site with an opportunity for a viable battery storage scheme quickly and independently from any developer .
Network Operators issue grid capacity on a first-come-firstserved basis . If you deliberate too long , you can lose out to a neighbouring landowner and miss
out on the lucrative long-term income .
If you wait for a developer to come knocking and ‘ sign-up ’ to their battery technology and offer straight away , you lose the ability to negotiate the best terms and rents among competing technologies ( gas powered generators , for example ) and competing developers , if your site is viable . Factors which contribute to a viable battery scheme
Many factors combine to make a site viable for battery storage . The perfect site rarely exists but sites will need most of the following :
• the best sites are close to a 33,000-volt ( 33 kV ) circuit - having a primary substation ( typically 33 / 11 kV volts ) or bulk supply point ( typically 33 / 132 kV ) nearby is preferable
• a small scheme of up to 5 MW typically needs an 11 kV connection – for an 11 kV connection , the site should ideally
be under one kilometre from the primary substation
• for batteries , there needs to be the same amount of import capacity as export capacity available on the grid
• a storage scheme will need space from as small as a 40-foot shipping container up to two acres
• brown field sites are preferable including areas around machinery or grain stores and livestock housing
• no rail , river or large road crossings between the site and the point of grid connection
• access rights to the site
• no landscape designations such as AONB , SSSIs , battlefields and National Parks
• no flood risk
• secluded allocation , ideally not overlooked by dwellings or public access
• relatively flat land with good underlying structural ground conditions .
Given most sites will have limitations , it is important that
farmers commission an independent assessment of their sites before committing to grid and planning application costs or professional fees . You must ensure you aren ’ t wasting your money on unviable sites .
Roadnight Taylor offers Stop / Go feasibility studies from as little as £ 250 . We look at the local planning and grid factors , and work closely with the engineers at the Network Operators to establish whether there is likely to be a costeffective grid connection , at what scale and for which technology . Battery storage may not be suitable for your local grid , whereas gas gensets or solar technologies could be .
If there is isn ’ t any possibility of a battery or power generation scheme on your site , you have invested very little . If there is potential and you are ahead of your neighbours , you could have much to gain .
www . farmingmonthly . co . uk September 2017 | Farming Monthly | 41