Energy firm targets 10 acre Ayrshire site for battery storage system

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A huge battery storage site, designed to support the National Grid network, could be coming to Ayrshire.Ayrshire Live can reveal that green energy supplier Apatura Ltd has formally requested a screening opinion for a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a patch of agricultural land at MacNairston Farm, near Forehill, Coylton.It’s the latest green energy proposal for the region and comes just weeks after South Ayrshire Council offered no objection to a contentious plan for a £50m solar farm on land near Loch Fergus, which lies 3.3km east of Ayr- and just under 1km west of Coylton.

Opponents of that scheme fear the possibility of lithium-ion fires releasing toxic clouds of gas.They also warned that it could potentially wreck the local eco-system and become a danger to wildlife to the nearby Martnaham Loch, a designated SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).That application will be decided by the Scottish Government.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.Lithium-ion batteries are “expected” to be used in this latest proposal, which is earmarKed for land just 1.17 km to the north of Martnaham Loch.If approved, as many as 80 containers would be used to house the batteries, which are expected to store as much as 200 megawatts of energy, over a 10 acre site.The proposed development would allow electricity from the national grid to be stored in batteries at