Representation by Jean Whitaker
- Date submitted
- 16 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
1)The scale of the proposal requires an unacceptable loss of a non-renewable resource, our farmland. This adds to the cumulative loss from the current trend of over-development on green field sites in this area and as such, cannot be regarded as sustainable development. Food security is not optional, whereas alternative forms of renewable energy are available. 2)I am strongly in favour of increasing renewable electricity generation in the UK. The best way to increase the solar contribution is to fit panels to buildings, as a default on new build and as retrofit on existing buildings. 3)The proposal represents unacceptable industrialisation of a rural area. The best location for BESS facilities is existing industrial or brownfield sites. 4) The Capacity Market Auctions run by National Grid provide the opportunity for a highly-subsidised short-term operating reserve for which BESS facilities can bid, making investment in such facilities disproportionately profitable. The auction creates a system that is predominantly cost, rather than policy driven. In this case, those profits will not end up in the UK.