
Public Consultation Opens for Proposed Swansea Battery Storage Scheme
The plans are for a 250 MW battery energy storage scheme (BESS), adjacent to the existing Swansea North substation near Morriston and Felindre.
Environmental and technical assessments are already being carried out and local community views are being sought to gather feedback before submitting a planning application to Swansea Council.
The public consultation starts from 14th May where the plans will be available for review on www.edf-re.uk/our-sites/swansea-north. The project team will also be at Felindre Community Hall on 5th and 6th June to meet people and answer their questions.
Amy Ravitz-Williams, Project Development Manager at EDF Renewables UK, said:
'As more of our lives are powered by electricity – from heating our homes to our cars to using AI – our energy system is changing. Batteries help to future-proof the grid and cost-effectively integrate more renewable power leading to greater energy security.'
The company said that battery storage is essential in the transition towards reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, stabilising the grid and ensuring our energy security. It can respond quickly to network changes and provides the flexibility required by National Grid to manage the intermittent nature of supply from renewable sources such as wind and solar, supporting a resilient network.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Aberthaw power station and Severn tidal lagon in progress
Proposals for a tidal lagoon, that would be smaller than a barrage spanning the Severn which has been previously touted but dismissed on cost grounds, were revealed in March in a report by the Severn Estuary Commission Its report called for the UK and Welsh governments to support the project though the commission was hosted by the Western Gateway Partnership, of local authorities in South Wales and South West of England, that was disbanded in June. But Monmouthshire County Council leader Mary Ann Brocklesby, who chairs the Cardiff Captial Region that represents the 10 unitary authorities in South East Wales, said it is still working on the proposal with counterparts not only in the south west of England but also Liverpool. 'We've started to realise our relationship with the West of England Combined Authority and with Liverpool around tidal power, that is very exciting,' Cllr Brocklesby told a meeting of the Cardiff Capital Region's overview and scrutiny committee. She said the region's purchase of the former Aberthaw coal fired power station, on the Vale of Glamorgan coast – which has ultimately resulted in the body having to pay a £5 million legal settlement over how a contract to dismantle it was awarded – will also benefit its ambitions. It paid £38m for the purchase of the 500 acre site, in 2022, which it intends developing as a 'renewable and green energy park'. 'Aberthaw can be huge benefit socially as well as economically,' said Labour's Cllr Brocklesby who acknowledged 'working our way through the procurement issues' which resulted in it having to pay the £5m settlement has been a 'real challenge' for the region in its first year as an independent body, having first been a project established by the partner councils. The capital region's chief executive Kellie Beirne said it has 'good relationship' with the National Grid on a 'reconnection agreement' that will be submitted shortly for Aberthaw, which ceased operating in 2019. 'There is a lot of work to build upon around the tidal lagoon opportunity as highlighted by the Severn Estuary Commission, that is something for us to keep building on,' Ms Beirne told the committee of councillors from across the region. She also described Aberthaw, which is owned by CCR Energy a limited company in which the capital region is the only shareholder, as a 'key asset'. She said: 'Apart from the two National Grid substations there is 18 million tonnes of pulverised fuel ash we've drilled down nearly 27 holes, down to depths of nearly 30 metres, to be able to understand, a valorisation exercise, on that fuel ash that will hopefully tell us the mineral content, what it was used for and could be in the future.' She also said the first phase of demolition at the site has been completed and handed back to the the region which will be able to 'claim things like land reclamation tax against that'. But she warned the regional body won't be able to fully fund the development of the site itself. She said: 'Will we be able to afford to do it all? No way. The cost will ultimately require significant private sector input. In 18 months time, when the demolition is complete, that is when we will be able to bring the full master plan together and start enacting some of the projects that we've spoken about in the past.'


Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
‘Swansea council hit us with a £15k tax bill – and two weeks to pay'
Has your holiday let business been affected by anti-tourist policies? Email money@ In the four years since Guy Allen and Emma Enticott bought their holiday let in the heart of Mumbles on the Gower Peninsula, they estimate their business has contributed £90,000 to the local economy. Their thank you from Swansea Council, however, was a backdated council tax bill for £15,000 with a 15-day deadline to pay. The shock charge was the result of a tax change two years ago that many holiday let owners have argued was never properly communicated. The dispute centred around a decision by Welsh Labour to raise the number of days that holiday home owners would have to let their property to qualify for business rates. The minimum of 70 days was raised to 182. Businesses that failed to reach the new target would instead pay council tax, which would then be treated as a second home, incurring a premium of up to 300pc. The change became law from April 1 2023 but a loophole meant the 182-day target was backdated, so the requirement had to also be met in the year preceding the rule change. The Welsh government said it wrote to holiday let owners in October 2022 to explain this stipulation. Those who received the letter complained that this only gave them six months to hit the far higher target. Others, like Allen, 62 and Enticott, 51, said they never received a letter. 'They are stealing this money from us' And while the couple have worked hard to reach the 182-day target every year since 2023, employing a lettings agent, setting up a website and a social media page, they came up 11 nights short of the target in 2022-23. They didn't think this was an issue until they received a letter on July 17 from Swansea Council demanding £15,189 by August 1 for three years' worth of council tax, all of which had a 100pc premium applied. Allen said: 'What they have done is they have taken us off business rates completely. 'It means the council has now effectively charged us for six years of council tax and this is the first we've heard of it. 'We've spoken to the Valuation Office and it's going to take up to nine months for us to get back on to business rates because of the backlog. They will end up having to repay us for the years we have hit the target and therefore should be on business rates, but in the meantime [the council] is stealing money from us. 'They are going to have the benefit of our money and the interest on it for nine months before having to pay us back.' 'Paying the price for council incompetence' The Telegraph previously revealed how some Welsh authorities were taking holiday let owners to court to try to recoup backdated bills of up to £13,000. Alistair Handyside, of trade body the Professional Association of Self Caterers, described the policy as 'effectively [being] retrospective legislation'. He said there was no finite data on the number of holiday lets in Wales, so it was highly likely that letters were not sent to all homeowners. While Allen, head of sales at a watches firm, and Enticott, who manages several properties, were able to pay the bill, they said they had concerns for the countless other holiday let owners who would not be able to afford the bill. Enticott said: 'Guy and I are old enough and ugly enough, we have got each other's backs, and are a strong couple. But my major thoughts are for people who are facing ruin. They've got the bills to service, and they've got no other income stream. As an industry we are facing an absolute crisis. 'People cannot take the pressure anymore, and they've got absolutely no chance of hitting 182 days in some parts of the country.' Allen added: 'The heavy lifting of the tourism industry is carried by furnished holiday lets and we are being killed for the sake of covering up the Welsh government's incompetence. 'You only have to go through every one-horse town in Wales to see the petrol station has closed down, the pub has closed, the chapel has closed, and there are endless derelict houses. 'There are more than 100,000 empty homes in Wales, and that has nothing to do with second homes or holiday lettings, but for Mark Drakeford and his mates, it's an easy win. 'Blame somebody else for your lack of infrastructure. They have done nothing to build a sustainable economy for Wales in rural areas, and instead they want to go after holiday lets.' A Swansea Council spokesman said: 'This was not a decision taken by Swansea Council. We advised the family that the decision to take their holiday let off business rates was taken by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). We had no control over the decision and we have no discretion to amend it. As a result of the VOA decision, the property became liable for council tax.' 'There was no delay from the council's point of view. The VOA told us recently it had retrospectively decided to withdraw the property from business rates, backdating its decision to April 1, 2023. This triggered the need for us to issue a council tax demand, and we did this as soon as we were informed by VOA of their decision. 'We have advised the family to contact the VOA, and should the position change, we will respond to that.' A Valuation Office Agency spokesman said: 'We cannot comment on individual cases. Following the Welsh Government's announcement of the new business rates criteria for self-catering properties, we wrote to all self-catering property owners in October 2022 to let them know about upcoming changes and how this would be assessed. 'We also published information online and engaged with industry bodies and local councils to raise awareness of the changes. 'We write to customers in Wales every two years to request lettings information. If a customer thinks their property has met the criteria to qualify for business rates, they can contact us and we will look into their case. 'If a customer informs us that they are experiencing financial hardship we will prioritise their case.'


BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Row over plans for former Derbyshire grammar school
Plans to lease a refurbished grammar school to Derbyshire County Council for use as office space have been paused after councillors called for more scrutiny over the decision. Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC) took on the former Heanor Grammar School in 2022 after receiving £8.6m through the government's Future High Streets there has been anger from councillors and the mayor of the town after a decision was taken to hand over large swathes of the building to the county borough council said the community would still benefit from the new plans. When AVBC originally agreed to acquire the grammar school, it said the building was to be "restored and repurposed as a shared use facility, including space for business, training and community uses".While signed off by the county council's cabinet last week, the decision to go ahead with the plan in Amber Valley was made unilaterally by borough council leader Chris considered urgent by the leadership can be taken outside of the usual cabinet process under the authority's rules as an executive decision.A record of the decision taken on 25 July says leasing it to the county council offers "immediate full occupation [of the building], a stable and predictable income stream, and a substantial reduction in operational and financial risk to the council".It goes on to say that providing "meaningful benefit to the local community" has remained "a key priority". Under the proposals, the main hall and an adjacent meeting room will be available for hire by community groups on one weekday, every evening and all day at weekends. The council also says the car park will operate on a "split-use basis", ensuring some public access is still possible but not between 08:00 and 18:00 on plans would see the county council lease the building from Amber Valley for a five-year period. Space would be available for about 150 employees. However, a meeting of Amber Valley's Improvement and Scrutiny Committee will now take place on 12 August after the decision was subject to a call-in procedure by two call-in a decision means implementation is paused so that councillors can examine the reason it was taken and scrutinise whether the process aligns with council councillor Trevor Holmes and Derbyshire Community Independents councillor Ben Bellamy were behind the call-in application."A behind closed doors decision has been taken by one man to lease the whole building and limit community use to just evenings and weekends," Bellamy said."That doesn't sit right." The mayor of Heanor and Loscoe Town Council Alan Abernethy said the decision was made in an "underhand" way and leasing it to the county council "goes against the Future High Street Fund". "Most people in Heanor expected it to be community-based, that's what they were promised," he said."We're not going to stop Derbyshire County Council going into there, but the way it's been done and the fact we're getting so little use of it, it's going to affect Heanor. Personally I want to see more space offered to us. We've been let down." An AVBC spokesperson said: "No agreement has been made at this stage."If agreed, a county council tenancy will ensure that additional jobs will be established within Heanor Town Centre, which will bring valuable footfall, new visitors, and increased support for local businesses." Stephen Reed, Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for business services, said moving to the building would save the county council £135,000 a year and give staff "a more modern working environment"."We were looking for office accommodation in the area as the landlord for our offices at Mercian Close gave us notice," he said."As part of the proposals, there will be community use of the main hall and associated facilities so that the community of Heanor can benefit from the building. "We're currently looking at how we can work with Amber Valley Borough Council so they can manage those arrangements."