Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Energy Infrastructure Applications: Land Use Changes

Tuesday 14 October 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions addressed concerns about proposed battery energy storage systems on agricultural land in the green belt.
  • The Minister noted the importance of public confidence in the safety of energy infrastructure technologies.
  • The Minister explained that building renewable infrastructure helps reduce energy bills in the long term.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Green Lib Dem Chesham and Amersham
Energy Environment
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.

Question

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?

Answer from The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: 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.

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Q2 Anna Dixon Lab Shipley
Climate Energy
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.

Question

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?

Answer from The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)

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.

Answered
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