The proposed battery energy storage facility located near Navenby, Lincolnshire, is under scrutiny due to a potential ‘design flaw’ that could considerably increase the risk of a serious fire. This concern was raised by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which noted that the battery modules are intended to be situated too closely to one another, thereby permitting a potential ‘domino effect’ should a fire break out. The submission proposals for North Kesteven District Council reportedly fail to comply with the guidance provided by the National Fire Chiefs Council, which suggests a spacing of at least 6 metres between modules to hinder fire propagation.
Additionally, the UKHSA voiced its apprehensions regarding the neglect of considering the long-lasting effects of lithium-ion fires. Such fires can burn for days or even weeks, posing a risk to neighbouring residents through potential exposure to poisonous fumes. Moreover, doubts were raised over how well the suggested ‘firewater lagoon’ would manage to contain the waste water from firefighting activities, which runs the risk of introducing harmful substances into local ground water. Lincolnshire County Council’s Councillor Marianne Overton MBE has urged for an ‘immediate revision’ of battery safety due to the nearness of these installations to residential buildings and educational establishments within the county.
Despite this, developers Windel Energy and Recurrent Energy maintain that the Navenby site is crucial for supporting a more environmentally friendly energy grid with a power storage capacity of up to 400MW. They insisted that comprehensive safety procedures, inclusive of continuous battery cell observation, would be put in place. However, the intervention from the UKHSA during the planning stages emphasises the substantial health and safety risks.
As Lincolnshire is currently awaiting nearly 25 applications for comparable battery storage systems, this concern is becoming progressively significant for local communities. There is ongoing debate regarding how secure these systems can actually be, and as a consequence, safety standards and emergency readiness are of extreme focus.
This story is based on an original report by www.bbc.com and has been adapted by The Lincoln Post.
