UK developer secures 400 MW of battery storage approvals in single day

Firstway Energy has received planning approval for three BESS projects totaling 400 MW capacity across England, with all approvals secured on February 4, 2025.

The largest of the three projects is a 200MW system at Mill Hey in Capenhurst, Cheshire, connecting to the Capenhurst substation. The other two 100MW projects are located at Illey Lane in Dudley, West Midlands, and Bicker Drove in Boston, Lincolnshire, connecting to the Kitwell and Bicker Fenn substations respectively.

At Dudley, the company said the proposed development will also deliver biodiversity net gain above minimums in the UK’s Environment Act 2021, with a 28% increase in habitat units and a 16.8% increase in hedgerow units. The Dudley project has secured a firm connection date for October 2026.

“We are delighted to receive approval for these projects and would like to thank the authorities for recognising the ever-increasing importance and need for energy storage facilities,” said Nathan Stevenson, Land Director at Firstway Energy.

“We are looking forward to working with the National Energy Grid System Operator (NESO), National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) in accelerating the grid connections as all three sites will benefit from a ‘Protected’ Gate 2A grid connection,” said Stevenson, referring to NESO’s ongoing connections reform project that replaces a first come, first serve model with a queue system that focuses on project readiness

The approvals mark significant progress for Firstway Energy, which is currently developing 40 sites across the UK with a combined capacity exceeding 4GW. The company secured these latest approvals through a combination of local authority committee decisions and the Planning Inspectorate.