Roadside battery box at Kingskerswell gets green light

Storage unit will be part of the drive to Net Zero

A roadside battery box at Kingskerswell will be part of a nationwide drive towards net zero.

Councils across the UK are pledging to drive down their carbon emissions to zero, and the new box will be part of a growing network.

Teignbridge Council’s planning committee has said yes to the box, which will be situated on a grass verge opposite the Coventry Farm industrial buildings in Torquay Road.

Ashley Boyce of Amp Clean Energy told the committee that 68 identical schemes had been given permission already in other parts of the country.

The boxes connect directly into the local electricity network supplying homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, storing excess renewable energy until it is needed.

“We are running out of capacity and this increases the risk of power cuts,” she said. “A storage method which increases the capacity of the system is needed.”

However, ward councillor Jane Taylor (SD Alliance, Kerswell with Coombe) said the plan would see ‘a huge great container’ at the entrance to the village.

“People have worked very hard to make this village nice,” she said. “This is not suitable for that location on the grass verge. It can’t be hidden behind screening. I don’t think it’s the right place.”

Some councillors also felt that the box should be located on the other side of the road where there are already industrial buildings.

Cllr Taylor called for the application to be deferred for more information, including on how the new battery box would fit in with a proposed cycle path in the area.

However, the committee voted by six to two to approve installation of the box.