CHANGES TO BATTERY PROJECT 'REDUCE SOME HAZARDS BUT INCREASE OTHERS'

A public meeting about the project in Kilcullen in 2023.

The community campaign against a battery energy storage system at Dunnstown says changes made to the project have reduced some hazards but increase others, writes Brian Byrne. Two Mile House Says No were responding to the news that the BESS project has received planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála, following a resubmitted appeal.

The campaigners say that the changes to the Strategic Power Projects Limited plan prove the original concerns identified by the community — thermal runaway, toxic gas release, explosion, and contaminated firewater running off into the Curragh aquifer — had been valid. "When the proposal first came forward in 2021, the developer's position was that it posed no risk to the surrounding community," TMHSN's response says. "Five years of residents' work has shown otherwise."

The changes include a switch in battery chemistry from lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) to lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a halving of the battery storage area, purpose-built battery modules instead of adapted shipping containers, and an on-site water supply and containment of contaminated runoff to protect the aquifer. There's also improved access for emergency vehicles.

But TMHSN notes that while LFP batteries are harder to ignite, University of Sheffield studies found that such cells can release more than ten times as much hydrogen fluoride per unit of stored energy as NMC, and concluded that LFP is the more toxic of the two. LFP vent gas also becomes explosive at lower concentrations and is more likely to escape unburned, raising the risk of a vapour cloud explosion.

A continuing and major concern of the campaign is that no statutory body in Ireland is responsible for the operational safety of grid-scale BESS. There is no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment, the COMAH regulations do not apply, and neither the EPA nor the Health and Safety Authority has jurisdiction.

"Communities across the country are now facing the same questions we faced in 2021," says TMHSN spokesman Hugh Dillon. "If the Government set mandatory safety standards and gave one body responsibility for enforcing them, communities would be protected and developers would face far fewer objections and delays. Good regulation works in everyone's favour."

The project was originally rejected by Kildare County Council in 2021, a decision overturned on appeal by An Bord Pleanála in September 2022. That decision was subsequently quashed by order of the High Court in March 2024.

The case was reactivated and lodged again on 16 April 2024, and the latest permission was granted on 15 September. A proposed substation related to the project is currently the subject of a strategic infrastructure development pre-application consultation with ACP.

READ: Dunnstown battery energy storage granted planning permission 

READ: Lack of BESS regulation and responsibility highlighted at Kilcullen meeting 

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DUNNSTOWN BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE GRANTED PLANNING PERMISSION

A TMHSN meeting in 2023.

Planning permission for a battery energy storage system (BESS) at Dunnstown has been granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála, writes Brian Byrne. The project was previously rejected by Kildare County Council in 2021, a decision overturned on appeal by An Bord Pleanála in September 2022, and that decision subsequently quashed by order of the High Court in March 2024.

The case was reactivated and lodged again on 16 April 2024, and the latest permission was granted last week, on 15 September. The applicant is Strategic Power Projects Limited. A proposed substation related to the project is currently the subject of a strategic infrastructure development pre-application consultation with ACP.

A campaign against the original proposal, Two Mile House Says No, included residents, community groups, and agriculture and equine business interests in the area. They have major concerns on environmental and biodiversity grounds, and risks of fire and explosion. 

The group put together an extensively researched opposition to the plan that included details of over 50 instances of fire incidents in such installations around the world. They also showed the unsuitability of the project's design and location in the event of a battery fire incident requiring access by emergency services and possible evacuation of the local community. The inadequacy of the county's current fire service resources in dealing with such an incident was also noted.

KCC had refused permission on the basis that the proposed development was premature pending the outcome of a related application for a 220kV sub-station which had not yet been determined, that fire safety aspects of the proposed development had not been adequately addressed, and that there had been inadequate details for dealing with waste-water as well as lack of information in relation to noise and vibration.

On that second reason, the ABP Inspector had overturned the fire safety concerns of KCC on the basis that they were 'matters of technical detail better left to the certification system managed under the Building Control Act' and did not give rise to reasons for refusal of planning permission in this case.

There were 170 submissions from locals to the original application to KCC, including a 500-signature petition attached to the TMHSN submission.

The relodged submission proposed changes to the original project, including using Lithium Iron Phosphate rather than Lithium Ion batteries to store energy at the site. The battery storage area was also reduced by circa 50 per cent due to the use of smaller battery containers. The applicant claimed that using LFP battery technology overcomes third-party fire and safety concerns expressed in a report previously lodged with the board.

The campaign argued that the proposed changes were 'substantial and material' and should not be part of an appeal, as opposed to the submission of a totally new application to Kildare County Council. But the case was reactivated anyway.

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Senator seeks mandatory EIAs for battery energy storage

A Bill proposing the requirement of an Environmental Impact Statement for Battery Energy Storage Systems has been introduced in the Seanad by Senator Vincent P Martin, writes Brian Byrne. The initiative is on the back of a proposal for a BESS at Dunnstown near Carnalway, which has been strongly opposed by local residents and equine interests. 

Introducing his Planning and Development (Stationary Battery Energy Storage Systems) Bill 2024, Senator Martin noted that such EIAs are not required under current planning legislation, yet some of the BESS schemes being proposed in Ireland are amongst the largest in the world. "An EIA is required for a piggery, but not for a BESS," he said. "Initiatives which reduce carbon emissions are clearly important, but it is vital that they are done in a way which assures as much public confidence, transparent accountability and community buy-in as possible." 

The senator said that ensuring EIAs are made mandatory for such projects should be "a basic and much-needed requirement."

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'Substantial changes' to Dunnstown batteries plan re-ignite local opposition

The new site notice, and recent LFP fire in Germany.

New proposals for the controversial battery energy storage system proposed for Dunnstown have been made by the developer, as part of an appeal against losing planning permission, writes Brian Byrne. But local residents who have been fighting the plan say the 'substantial and material' changes should be subject to a completely new planning application.

In June 2021 Kildare County Council had refused the original planning application for the development. That decision was overturned by An Bord Pleanala, but the board's granting of permission was quashed earlier this year by the High Court, following judicial review proceedings by local residents. 

A site notice was erected at Dunnstown on Wednesday last at the behest of ABP, outlining proposed changes to the plan, described as 'significant further information' submitted to the board by the applicant, Strategic Power Projects Limited. 

The changes include using Lithium Iron Phosphate rather than Lithium Ion batteries to store energy at the site. The details also include a battery storage area reduced by circa 50pc due to the use of smaller battery containers. The applicant claims that using LFP battery technology overcomes third party fire and safety concerns expressed in a report previously lodged with the board. 

The Two Mile House Says No group says these proposed changes are 'substantial and material' and should not be part of an appeal, as opposed to the submission of a totally new application to Kildare County Council.

They also note that "Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are Lithium ion batteries so the risks and hazards of thermal runaway, toxic gas and explosion still exist." The residents also highlight the fact that the developer is still not proposing an adequate water supply, even though this was the reason ABP conceded and world expert independent opinion stated it is the ONLY extinguishant to control thermal runaway. 

"The developer is proposing a 'Let it Burn' policy with no means of intervention," a spokesperson said. "We do not know of any incident worldwide where no water has been available." TMHSN notes that in a 2021 fire in Beijing where three people died, the batteries involved were LFP, "which the developer is claiming are incombustible." There was also a serious fire in Germany this year with an LFP battery system.

Submissions may be made to the board by any person within four weeks from last Wednesday, to the revised proposals which are available for inspection at the offices of Kildare County Council in Naas.

The original KCC planning reference was 21608. The appeal reference number is ABP-319518-24 (previously ABP-310841-21).

It's understood that the revised proposals were submitted by the applicant last May. Locals involved in the ABP process received notice of the plans three weeks ago, 'for comment', but TMHSN responded that there had been no public consultation on them. "Then the site notice went up on Wednesday. It's all very confusing."

There were 170 submissions from locals to the original application to KCC, including a 500-signature petition attached to the TMHSN submission.

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Win for campaign against Dunnstown battery storage scheme

TMHSN campaign meeting in 2023.

The High Court has quashed the decision of An Bord Pleanala to grant permission for the Dunnstown Battery Energy Storage Scheme, writes Brian Byrne. The Court granted an Order of Certiorari quashing the decision on the basis that the Board had failed to adequately engage with the submissions made to it concerning water supplies for firefighting submitted on behalf of the applicants, including the report of fire safety consultant Dr Paul Christensen. The Board also has to pay the the applicants' High Court costs.

This follows the granting last April of a request by the Two Mile House Says No campaign for a Judicial Review of the Bord's decision to overturn Kildare County Council's original refusal of permission to Strategic Power Projects Limited.

The High Court decision has been welcomed by the TMHSN campaign as 'good news'. However, the developer has the option of remittal, where ABP reconsiders the appeal, and makes a new decision.

The original planning application for the BESS, which would be one of the largest in Europe if it was built, was refused by KCC in 2021. ABP overturned that in September 2022.

The campaign membership against the proposal includes residents, community groups, and agriculture and equine business interests in the area. They have major concerns on environmental and biodiversity grounds, and risks of fire and explosion. 

The group put together an extensively researched opposition to the plan that included details of over 50 instances of fire incidents in such installations around the world. They also showed the unsuitability of the project's design and location in the event of a battery fire incident requiring access by emergency services and possible evacuation of the local community. The inadequacy of the county's current fire service resources in dealing with such an incident was also noted.

KCC had refused permission on the basis that the proposed development was premature pending the outcome of a related application for a 220kV sub-station which had not yet been determined, that fire safety aspects of the proposed development had not been adequately addressed, and that there had been inadequate details for dealing with waste-water as well as lack of information in relation to noise and vibration.

On that second reason, the ABP Inspector had overturned the fire safety concerns of KCC on the basis that they were 'matters of technical detail better left to the certification system managed under the Building Control Act' and did not give rise to reasons for refusal of planning permission in this case.

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Planning application for large-scale solar farm complexes

File Photo via Unsplash.

A planning application has been lodged for a solar farm in the Brannockstown-Harristown-Dunstown area with a total area of 246 hectares, writes Brian Byrne. The applicant is Delamain Solar Farm Limited.

The installation will include ground-mounted solar voltaic panels with a surface area of 1.13 million sq metres, over six separate locations, and associated containers for inverter/transformer stations, storage, and weather stations. The maximum output is estimated to be circa 210 megawatts, and the operational lifetime is expected to be 40 years.

The full list of townlands involved includes Brannockstown, Brownstown, Carnalway, Coghlanstown West, Corbally, Delamain, Dunnstown, Gaganstown, Greenhills, Harristown, Hillsborough, Moorhill and Rochestown 

A decision date for the application is 20 July 2023, with submissions possible up to 29 June 2023. The application number is 23567 and full details can be accessed here.

Delamain Solar Farm Ltd was established in April of last year, with the largest shareholder registered as Terra Solar Ii Limited, established six years ago and based at NovaUCD, Belfield, Dublin. 

A local organisation, the Harristown Coughlanstown Community Group, has begun a campaign against what is seen to be 'industrial-sized' developments in the area, including another solar farm at Swordlestown for which planning was granted and is being appealed to An Bord Pleanala, one rumoured for between Swordlestown South and Coughlanstown West, and the Battery Energy Storage System at Dunnstown given permission by ABP and currently the subject of a Judicial Review at the request of the Two Mile House Says NO campaign.

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Lack of BESS regulation and responsibility highlighted at Kilcullen meeting

There is more regulation attached to selling a home-made pot of jam at a local market than there is for the installation of grid-scale battery energy storage systems, a meeting in Kilcullen was told last night, writes Brian Byrne.

Upwards of 30 people attended the event in Kilcullen Community Centre, organised by the Two Mile House Says NO! campaign against what would be the largest BESS in Europe, planned for Dunnstown.

Campaign members Hugh Dillon, Aidan Farrell and Eleanor Wauchob each gave presentations on the issue, highlighting respectively the lack of Irish regulation around such installations, the unsuitability of the Dunnstown site in terms of access and evacuation should there be a thermal runaway incident, and details of more than 50 such incidents around the world resulting in serious explosions, fires and toxic smoke.

The Kilcullen meeting followed a similar one three weeks ago in Two Mile House, and Eleanor Wauchob noted that since then there have been at least two more significant fires involving large-scale lithium battery storage operations.

The TMHSN campaign was recently granted leave to have a Judicial Review of the An Bord Pleanala decision to overturn Kildare County Council's refusal of planning permission for the Dunnstown project, initiated by Strategic Power Projects Limited.

Hugh Dillon (above) said their campaign isn't just for the local area, but to ensure that such technology is put in place in a safe manner everywhere. "There are no regulations here, no standards, nobody taking responsibility," he said, noting that BESS installations didn't require certification or environmental impact examination under Irish planning and safety laws.

Aidan Farrell (above), a chartered engineer by profession, highlighted the fact that the plans for the Dunnstown installation showed no attenuation measures on site for dealing with the large quantities of highly toxic water that would result from dealing with a fire at the BESS. "It's sitting on top of the Kildare aquifer, where a million litres of contaminated water would go if this happened."

During the discussion which followed the presentations, issues raised included concern about home insurance for residents in the area of the BESS, the lack of definite plans for dealing with fire incident control and evacuation, the inadequacy of the Kildare Fire Service's resources to deal with a fire incident, and the lack of responsibility by any state department or entity for such installations.

Commenting that the authorities are being 'complacent' about a technology which is at the very early stages of development, Hugh Dillon appealed for people to write to Ministers Eamon Ryan and Daragh O'Brien, heading the two departments which have the potential to take charge of such installations. "The Government needs to take control of this," he said, adding that there are other energy storage options being successfully developed and that these need to be looked at rather than relying on a potentially toxic and dangerous technology. 

The meeting was concluded with an appeal for support for the group's fundraising to pay for their legal campaign through the High Court.

Aidan Farrell shows the 7km radius around the Dunnstown site, and the communities which could be given 'stay inside' orders in the event of a BESS fire incident.

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Kilcullen public meeting tonight on Dunnstown plans

Images provided by TMHSN campaign.

A reminder that the Two Mile House Says NO campaign has organised a public meeting in Kilcullen for this evening, Tuesday 9 May, to discuss what's termed 'the industrialisation of Two Mile House, Kilcullen and Brannockstown', writes Brian Byrne.

The meeting in Kilcullen Community Centre begins at 7pm and is expected to last two hours.

The organisers will discuss concerns about a number of developments proposed for the Dunnstown area, including a Battery Energy Storage System, a solar panel farm, sub-stations and a synchronous condenser mechanism to balance the electricity grid.

The group recently was granted leave for a judicial review of a Bord Pleanala decision granting permission for the lithium ion BESS at Dunnstown. 

READ: Large turnout to Dunnstown BESS meeting 

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Dunnstown BESS campaign wins right to Judicial Review

Some of the attendance at Tuesday night's meeting.

The campaign against the proposed battery energy storage system for Dunnstown has been granted leave to have a Judicial Review of the An Bord Pleanala decision allowing the scheme, writes Brian Byrne.

This is a 'significant development', according to the Two Mile House Says NO group, who sought the review following ABP's overturn last September of Kildare County Council's 2021 refusal of planning permission to Strategic Power Projects Limited. 

The campaign membership includes residents, community groups, and agriculture and equine business interests in the area. They have major concerns on environmental and biodiversity grounds, and risks of fire and explosion with the proposed BESS, which would be one of the biggest in Europe if it goes ahead.

At a public meeting on Tuesday night last, the group appealed for funding support in anticipation of the Judicial Review, leave for which was granted yesterday.

READ: Large turnout to Dunnstown BESS meeting 

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Large turnout to Dunnstown BESS meeting

An appeal for regulation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology was made at a packed public meeting last night organised by the Two Mile House Says NO campaign, writes Brian Byrne.

Upwards of 70 residents from the area attended the event in The Brown Bear to hear an update on the situation regarding plans to site Europe's largest BESS in Dunnstown.

The developer, Strategic Power Projects Limited, was  granted permission last September by An Bord Pleanala, overturning Kildare County Council's initial refusal of permission in 2021. The local community is now seeking a Judicial Review of the ABP decision.

Outlining the substantial costs which such a review will entail, the campaign's Hugh Dillon asked those present to consider financial support for the legal challenge, in addition to a number of fundraising initiatives which are planned.

Earlier in the meeting he had summarised the underlying reasons why the community, from the start, had been against the siting of the BESS in Dunstown. These include environmental and biodiversity issues as well as risks of fire, explosion, and consequent emission of highly toxic gases related to large concentrations of lithium battery systems. 

Mr Dillon noted that dealing with climate change is the biggest priority for the planet and 'we all will have to make sacrifices', but the rights of all stakeholders must be considered in any developments involving hazardous technologies. He reiterated the campaign's concern that there is currently no regulation or Government departmental 'ownership' of BESS developments, and they don't even require environmental impact assessments.

Campaign member Aidan Farrell, an engineer by profession, presented details of the access difficulties on narrow country roads, bringing daily HGV traffic during the construction phases. He also highlighted the unsuitability of the project's design and location in the event of a battery fire incident requiring access by emergency services and possible evacuation of the local community. The inadequacy of the county's current fire service resources in dealing with such an incident was also noted.

The campaign's Eleanor Wauchob provided extensive details of fire incidents in BESS installations around the world, now numbering over 50, and the difficulties which emergency services much better resourced than in Kildare had experienced in dealing with them. All of these involved installations very much smaller than the 212MW one proposed for Dunnstown.

Aidan Farrell, Hugh Dillon and Eleanor Wauchob.

Public representatives who attended last night's meeting included Minister Martin Heydon, Deputy Cathal Berry, Senator Vincent Martin, and councillors Tracey O'Dwyer, Rob Power and Suzanne Doyle. Apologies were received from a number of others.

A more comprehensive report from the meeting will follow. 

Cllrs Suzanne Doyle and Tracey O'Dwyer with Minister Martin Heydon.

Senator Vincent Martin, Cllr Rob Power and Deputy Cathal Berry.

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Public meeting on Dunnstown battery storage next steps

A public meeting in Two Mile House next week will discuss the next move following An Bord Pleanala's decision to overturn planning refusal for a Battery Energy Storage System at Dunnstown, writes Brian Byrne.

The proposal by Strategic Power Projects Limited was initially turned down by Kildare County Council planners, but the planning board reversed that decision last October. 

The campaign group Two Mile House Says NO is now raising funds with the intention of seeking a judicial review of the ABP decision. The public meeting will be held in The Brown Bear next Tuesday, 18 April, beginning at 8pm.

A GoFundMe appeal established on behalf of the campaign to meet legal fees so far incurred has to date raised €7,260 against a target of €20,000. 

The key concerns of the campaign relate to fire safety and damage to the environment, and the possibility of the BESS leading to other energy infrastructures in the area. 

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