Battery storage plants planned for Net Zero Britain 'must be approved by the fire department'

An image of a battery storage plant — needed to reach net zero. Such plants can also pose a great fire hazard

Fire services will need to be consulted about new lithium-ion battery packs to limit the effects of potential fires in line with proposals being weighed by ministers.

More than two dozen MPs from across the House of Commons are lobbying the government for tighter security measures. checks and balances on the siting of energy storage facilities that are the backbone of Britain's renewable energy supply as the number of facilities operating in the UK is expected to rise sharply in the coming months.

A group led by a Conservative MP Maria Miller introduced an amendment to the energy bill, due back in the House of Representatives this week, that would require planners to consult with fire authorities on any new industrial-scale projects.

Lithium-ion batteries can help balance out natural fluctuations in energy supplies such as wind and solar, storing excess electricity and distributing it when needed.

These have already been deployed to some extent in the UK and are meant to help manage electricity demand as fossil fuels are phased out in the drive towards net zero. But batteries can also pose a serious fire hazard: fires emit toxic fumes and require thousands of gallons of water to put out.

Dame Mary stressed that lithium-ion batteries are “necessary,” especially as Britain receives “ more and more renewable energy being pumped into our grid.” But she warned that there is currently a «lack of control» over where the facilities are located, citing a proposal by her own constituency to build a vault near «a very valuable north-flowing chalk stream» and a hospital.

< p>She said it seemed «obvious» to her, given the risks involved, that «proximity to certain things» must be taken into account before planning is agreed.

«Batteries play a really important role it's just where they're located,» she told The Telegraph.

“We have found that 37 battery sites are already in operation – 10 megawatts or more – and at last count, more than 400 sites are at some stage of planning approval or under construction.

“Thus, there is a dramatic increase in the number of facilities to be commissioned, from a few to over 400 over the next few months.”

There have been dozens of high-profile battery burnings around the world, including one in the UK, she said.

The plan has cross-party support

The 29 MPs proposing the amendment, including former Conservative cabinet minister David Davies a Ranil Jayawardena and Labor Party representatives Ian Byrne and Hilary Benn want to make the fire authorities legal advisors in all relevant planning applications while simultaneously requiring that both new and existing batteries received clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dame Mary said she hopes she will have government support for the «intent behind the amendment» when the bill returns to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“What I want to do on Tuesday is to make sure that the government clearly and publicly recognizes the need to address this issue that we have identified – that there is a lack of control over where these facilities are located – and that the environmental and societal impacts is fully taken into account before anything planning consent is given,” she said.

“So I will listen very carefully to the government minister to make sure he gives that commitment.”

Dame Maria added: “The overall conclusion from this is that it is absolutely recognized by the fire department. , according to environmental organizations, that lithium-ion battery factories can have a really negative impact on the environment if they catch fire, and the amount of water used to extinguish them can really harm the local environment and the health of local residents, that their better positioning needs to be done, and locations need to take into account the problems that can arise in the event of a fire.

“And battery fires, as people are increasingly seeing, are very common and can be fatal.”

Craig McKinley, head of the Conservative MP's Net Zero Study Group, also supported the amendment.

«We're talking about the cost of net zero, if we go that route, then you'll have to a huge amount of money to modernize the local fire departments so that they actually get the kit they need to put out these things,” he said.