A call to site a ‘battery box’ unit in Pembroke Dock for storing electricity during off-peak periods has been submitted to Pembrokeshire planners.

AMP Clean Energy has applied to Pembrokeshire County Council to build a ‘battery box’ energy storage unit at Thomas Court, London Road.

A supporting statement accompanying the application says: “AMP Clean Energy is developing Battery Boxes across the UK to provide a low carbon, flexible and de-centralised store of electricity that benefits local communities, businesses, and homes.”

The units take electricity from the local network when demand is low or renewable power is plentiful, then feed it back in when demand rises, helping keep the grid reliable as wind and solar generation increases.

AMP Clean Energy says it plans to develop up to 1,250 Battery Boxes across the UK over the next three years and has so far secured planning consent for more than 250.

Each box takes up roughly two parking spaces and stores 800kWh of electricity—enough to power 200 homes for four hours during a supply disruption, the company says.

The statement adds: “Renewable power generation does not always match when the demand for electricity is highest. To overcome this, we need a more flexible energy system that allows us to shift renewable energy to the periods of the day when the demand for power is at its greatest.”

It goes on to say: “Energy Storage Systems allow this ‘excess’ renewable electricity to be stored and used later when low carbon sources are unable to generate enough electricity (i.e., when it isn’t windy and sunny). By doing so ESS’s can prevent the need to turn on fossil fuel power stations and allow the UK to maximise the use of renewable power and to facilitate the UK’s transition to net-zero.”

It stresses: “For the avoidance of any doubt, each Battery Box connects directly to the local electricity network, from which it can import or export electricity. Battery Boxes do not directly connect to existing wind or solar farms.”

The battery box scheme is one of a number of recent applications in the county.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

County planners will consider the application at a later date.