CUMBRIA’S first large-scale battery storage facility is set to be developed at Bigrigg.

The project, which will have six battery units, has been designed to help support energy usage by the National Grid during peak times.

Developer Prospus hopes to install the batteries at the existing Woodend substation later this year.

It will have the capacity to store 10MW of energy. The units, which will be about 40ft long by 7ft wide, will store surplus energy produced locally which can then be released when needed across Cumbria during peak periods.

Alistair Fell, a director at Prospus, said the Bigrigg facility was the first of eight being rolled out nationally as part of the scheme.

“West Cumbria is the perfect place to launch a project such as this, with openness for innovative ventures and its focus on local energy needs,” he added.

“The Energy Coast was the best place for us to start.

“The battery systems work by kicking in within milliseconds during peak times for the National Grid. People won’t notice any fluctuations in their energy supply.

“Any surplus energy produced locally will be stored in these batteries and used up locally when needed. It’s energy produced by Cumbrians for Cumbrians.

“Systems such as these all help to reduce the costs for and the strain on the National Grid. Using stored energy that’s already produced locally means money saved on overhead power cables."

Mr Fell said the firm had been delighted with the support locally for the project including the local authority, Britain’s Energy Coast – which supported and advised the firm on the scheme – and local residents.

The installation of the units is a relatively quick process according to Mr Fell, taking about eight weeks to complete.

He added: “Aside from the bonus of supplying locally-generated energy, people have also been extremely supportive of our plans to better the existing substation by planting lots of trees which will conceal the site even more so than previously.”

Prospus, a consultancy firm, has worked on wind, hydro and solar projects across the UK previously.