RESIDENTS of a village near Truro are aghast at the prospect of a large energy battery storage ‘farm’ on nine acres of land next to a much-loved beauty spot. They believe that plans for up to 80 10ft high containers on a field currently used for grazing deer will create a fire and flood risk, noise nuisance and visibly impact the rural location.

Elgin Energy wants to develop a battery storage system on land next to the Penrose Water Gardens attraction in Tregavethan just outside Shortlanesend. Currently at the public consultation stage, if a resultant planning application is approved the site would accommodate approximately 100 megawatts (MW) of standalone battery storage, with a project lifetime of 50 years.

The company says the proposed scheme will allow the storage and release of energy for the entire grid, augmenting resources from wind, solar and hydro, to nuclear and fossil fuels. Elgin Energy says it would contribute to local and national energy targets with additional benefits. However, people living in the area are not sure there are any benefits.

Penrose Water Gardens Trust, which runs six idyllic acres of marshland with 40 lily ponds adjacent to the proposed field, the Cornish Barista Café at the gardens and other residents say they have not received formal written notification. Many of them only found out about a consultation website and survey set up by Elgin Energy by chance.

Sally Storey, who lives near the site, said there are key issues which are concerning locals – fire risk (opponents of the scheme point to three battery storage fires elsewhere in the country – there was an incident in Aberdeenshire just last month) and run-off to the Truro river and the water gardens which they fear will impact wildlife and water purity.

They are also concerned about noise, as each container has a fan. “We have no idea what the noise is going to be like,” said Sally. “A huge part of the café business here is sitting outside next to the gardens on the incredible terrace and in the summer you may have a constant whirring next to you.

“There’s also visual impact. Obviously, we know no one has a right to a view but the containers are massive and the trees that there’ll plant will only be so big. This is a huge walking area – so many people from the village walk their dogs here. It’s a really popular community area.”

Other residents, including Andy Holding and café owner Ashley Jones, say it’s the uncertainty of not knowing how the site will look or sound which concerns them, as they say most people in the area haven’t been consulted about it. They also claim details have been contradictory.

Elgin Energy’s website about what it is calling Great Roseveth BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) states that it would include 80 battery storage containers (BSC) and 40 power control system (PCS) containers, comprising transformers, inverters and monitoring systems. However, a downloadable pamphlet about the plant states there will be “up to 60 BSC and 30 PCS”.

Steve Greener, who runs the water gardens trust, thinks it’s an odd location for such a project. “This is a real haven for nature. We get all sorts of wildlife at the water gardens – dragonflies, damselflies, kingfishers, herons, Canada geese and newts. It just feels like the wrong place for what will effectively be a large industrial unit.”

“Surely there are better sites for something like this near the grid but away from the popular water gardens, houses and a busy cafe?” added Sally.

Elgin Energy says any noise from the plant would be compliant with limits set by Cornwall Council – each battery container and inverter station will contain a small fan similar to a domestic bathroom fan. The company states there will be no greenhouse gas emissions and no increase in surface water run-off and therefore there won’t be a significant increase in the risk of flooding.

It also states that the land has been classified as Grade 4 and Grade 3b and is therefore not within the best and most versatile classification for agriculture. Elgin says benefits include “smoothing out the delivery of variable or intermittent resources such as wind and solar, by storing excess energy when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, and delivering it when the opposite is happening” as well as the project being a “key enabler” of Net Zero.

The company also says battery storage can provide local system services to distribution network operators to help manage the local grid, bringing down costs for consumers in that area.

It is carrying out a number of assessments and reports, before submitting a planning application, including on ecology, archaeology and cultural heritage, construction access and traffic, and flood risk. A landscape and visual impact assessment is also being undertaken to identify any impacts on nearby viewpoints.

Existing field boundaries, trees and hedgerows would be retained. “The provision of bird boxes, insect hotels and wildflower meadows provide significant opportunities for biodiversity enhancements,” says the project’s website.