Energy Infrastructure Applications Land Use Changes 2025-10-14
2025-10-14
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Residents in Sarah Green's constituency are concerned about a proposed site for a battery energy storage system on agricultural land within the green belt. There have been reports of similar storage systems catching fire, causing fear among local communities.
Residents in my constituency are concerned about a proposed site for a battery energy storage system on agricultural land in the green belt. With tales of similar storage systems catching fire, there is understandable fear in the community. Would the Minister meet me to discuss making local fire services statutory consultees for certain types of battery storage planning applications, and to hear my residents’ concerns, and will he reassure them that they will not be guinea pigs for new or untested technology?
Public confidence in the safety of all infrastructure is incredibly important, as noted by the hon. Lady. Battery technology is no more unsafe than any other technology, but if there is a public perception that it is, then we take action to deal with that. I am hosting a roundtable to look at what more we can do around safety, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is doing work on some of the regulations in this space. The Health and Safety Executive closely regulates battery technology. I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss what more we can do.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not commit to making local fire services statutory consultees for certain types of battery storage planning applications or explicitly address concerns about new or untested technology.
Response accuracy
Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
Several planning applications for battery storage and onshore wind are pending or have been granted in the constituencies of Wilsden and Cullingworth, raising questions about how local communities can benefit from these developments.
In my constituency, several planning applications are pending, and one has already been granted in the villages of Wilsden and Cullingworth for battery storage and onshore wind in the wider area. Can the Minister explain how constituents with clean energy infrastructure in their area can benefit from both cheaper bills and community funding?
Building renewable infrastructure is crucial to bringing down bills in the long term. Storing cheaper electricity, including through battery storage, enables us to deploy it more regularly than we are currently deploying gas, which drives up people’s bills. Communities hosting the infrastructure will benefit from cheaper bills as well as direct community benefits. The Department has been consulting over the past few months on whether these should be made mandatory and whether expectations on developers should be raised.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy