Representation by Sana Wajid
- Date submitted
- 16 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Lack of Information We have not received any details on the type of battery storage that will be used. Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) store a very large amount of energy in a very small space or mass (i.e. have a high energy density) and, as such, are the first to employ organic solvents rather than water. However, if the stored energy is released in an uncontrolled fashion, highly toxic gases are released that are also flammable and explosive. Should this information be not available as FOI? Lack of Safety Legislations There are currently a number of electrical safety standards in place, but these fall short of adequately preventing and mitigating the risks of thermal runaway events, and the consequences of these (fires, explosions, gas emissions etc). LiBs play an invaluable role for our energy storage needs, but adequate and appropriate safety regulations must be put in place to ensure the ongoing safe functioning of these, especially when deployed at Grid scale. Lithium-ion battery energy storage (LiBESS) safety To date, there have been over 40 fires and explosions reported in grid-scale LiBESS across the world since 2012, primarily in installations that were 2 years old or less. Of these, 38 have been in the last 3 years (c.a. 30 occurred in South Korea). Overall, these incidents may have represented up to c.a. 6% of global installed capacity, with the high number of fires in South Korea simply reflecting the country’s very rapid uptake of LiBESS. In the context of Grid-scale LiBESS, these installations typically comprise a number of ‘shipping’ containers (ranging from one container to hundreds). These containers may house hundreds of thousands of individual battery cells, of various forms (pouch cells, cylindrical cells etc). All form factors are employed in Grid-scale LiBESS and, depending on the form of the cell used, estimates of failure can range from 1 in 72 to 1 in 282 containers. These estimates do not include failures caused by poor design, human error, poor housekeeping etc. Lack of understanding of Risks associated What literature review Sunnica has completed to incident investigations of past many incidents. If there is none we would like this to be part of the proposal to mitigate any risks. If that is completed, can we have a copy to review. Too large-scale project without experience of same category projects What experience Sunnica has dealing with this scale projects. We are not against Solar but we don’t have experience of dealing with associated risks of this scale solar battery storage projects. Too close to populated areas The impact of any incident should be assessed and should be a key factor considered before any approvals. As this project has several affected areas where there is high population. No information on Disposal of Batteries What information have we been provided for disposal of these batteries. We need to consider whole life cycle cost and benefit analysis with a consideration on what is the process for disposal and how it impacts the public.