Opposition to plans for two battery energy storage systems (BESS) in rural North Yorkshire is growing with almost £9,000 donated to a fighting fund launched by campaigners.
The online appeal was started by members of the Thirsk Against Battery Storage (TABS) group, which was formed to stop a proposal for a 1GW facility on farmland at South Kilvington, near Thirsk.
More than 110 people have donated to the fund in the last month, with the total standing at £8,840 at the start of the week.
Opposition is also growing to a similar plant at East Rounton, between Northallerton and Yarm, with Rounton Parish Council due to hold an extraordinary meeting tonight (MONDAY) to discuss the scheme.
Both proposals have been drawn up by green energy company NatPower, which is at the centre of a major £10bn project to build 20 cent of the country’s renewable energy storage requirements.
The company has held initial public consultations and is now working on planning applications to be submitted to North Yorkshire Council.
London-based NatPower, which described itself as a clean energy enabler, is aiming to build 13 so-called ‘gigaparks’ across the country in coming years.
The battery plants store electricity from the grid at times of lower demand and release it back to the grid when it is needed most.
NatPower said they would make an “essential contribution to ensuring reliable, secure and affordable electricity for the country as it moves away from using coal and gas for electricity generation”.
But members of TABS believe the North Yorkshire countryside is the wrong location for the schemes and fear they could lead to further industrialisation of the area if given the go-ahead.
South Kilvington resident Philip Martin, one of the founders of TABS, said the group had received great public support from people in Thirsk and the surrounding villages.
“We have 1,100 members in our Facebook group, we have a lot of hits on our website, and we’ve raised almost £9,000 on our GoFundMe page.
“We had a stall in Thirsk marketplace on Saturday and received overwhelming support.
“We collected a huge number of email addresses from people who want to object to the proposed development — we will contact them when planning permission is submitted.”
Mr Martin said the money would be used to hire a planning consultant to help the group fight the proposed development.
Councillor Christopher Spencer, from Rounton Parish Council, said their meeting was being held to gather the public’s views on the proposal for fields near East Rounton.
He said: “These things are going to happen. It’s just where they going to be sited that’s the problem.
“Our main issue is transport. The route they have proposed is along very small roads which is just not acceptable.”
Cllr Spencer said the meeting was being held to gauge residents’ views and discuss a way forward.
More than 250 people have joined an online group, Against Battery Storage: East Rounton, Picton, Crathorne, West Rounton Area, formed to oppose the development.
Andrew Sheldon-Thomson, who launched the group, said: “People worry about a BESS site because of potential risks like fire hazards and environmental impact, even as they acknowledge its role in sustainable energy.
“The industry is unregulated and we would be much happier if groups like the fire department were made statutory consultees.”
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