Maria Miller MP visited Basing Fen, the site of a proposed industrial lithium-ion battery storage facility.
‘’Last Friday, I met with Cllr Kate Tuck again at the site of a proposed industrial lithium-ion storage facility. This site is one of many battery storage facilities that have been granted planning permission across the country. Whilst these facilities are important for our transition to net zero, they utilize relatively new technology in a way which has been shown to pose a potential fire hazard".
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Chief, Neil Odin, has said ‘’ Whilst we recognise the positive contribution that these types of installations can play in providing solutions to cleaner energy, we remain concerned about the impact of the chosen locations that could have such a detrimental effect on the local environment and important infrastructure should a fire occur.
“In the event of a fire our teams would face an impossible choice between protecting the community from a potential toxic or explosive gas plume or applying water that would pollute the watercourse for many years.’’
Maria said, “Considering these risks, it is difficult to understand how the current planning rules can be formulated to allow planning permission to be given to a new battery storage facility so close to one of Basingstoke’s Hospitals and the environmentally protected River Loddon. If a battery units catches fire, the only way to extinguish it is to continuously cool with water. This process can take several days. By this time, as Neil Odin suggests, the water runoff could become contaminated with chemicals that might infiltrate local water courses.
“Last September I tabled a Bill in Parliament which sought to address this problem based on the experience we have had in Basingstoke. This new law would mean that the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and the Fire Service would be consulted before any similar planning application is considered. In the view of many industry experts, academics, and fire officers, this approach would stop batteries from being constructed at inappropriate and potentially dangerous locations. I am working with Ministers and government officials to explore amendments that can be tabled to the upcoming Energy Security Bill to implement these changes.’’
