A so-called energy barn will be built near Swadlincote to stop electrical blackouts caused by high demand from the National Grid.

A 40 mega-watt energy storage barn with a standalone building will be built at Breach Farm, in Cadley Lane, Caldwell, to provide back-up electricity services to the grid for a period of 25 years.

South Derbyshire District Council has approved the plans submitted by renewable energy developer Green Hedge Energy 2 Barn Ltd.

The energy barn is an energy storage facility with batteries in a barn and associated electrical and mechanical plant for cooling and ventilation.

The development includes a large agricultural building housing several batteries which are charged up during periods of low demand of electricity and fed back into the national grid during periods of peak demand. Each building is a typical steel-framed agricultural building of approximately 930m2.

In a report to the council, Green Hedge said the storage facility would act as a back-up to any electricity shortage due to high demand.

The report said: "If demand for electricity is greater than generation, the frequency falls while if generation is greater than demand, the frequency rises. National Grid has a licence obligation to control.

"The National Grid must therefore ensure that sufficient generation and/or demand is held in automatic readiness to manage all credible circumstances that might result in frequency variations.

"To avoid blackouts, National Grid needs fast-responding tools to offset any imbalance between demand and generation immediately. To date, this stability has mostly come from rotating plant, most of which are being decommissioned in the coming years (especially old coal plants).

"At the same time, the rapid increase in onshore and offshore wind capacity increases the need for frequency response services. Batteries can provide this service as they can respond within a fraction of a second and start exporting or importing power."

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