Pond Flexible Energy Park
Sustainable energy for everyone
Welcome our Pond Flexible Energy Park project page, a proposal to develop a battery energy storage system (BESS) to the south east of Bathgate on existing industrial land. The site, which is around two hectares within Pond Industrial Estate could provide up to 200MW of clean, renewable electricity, enough to meet the peak electricity demands of 240,000 homes for two hours (or the average electricity demands of around 600,000 homes).
What is battery storage and why do we need it?
The UK’s energy sources are increasingly powered by renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. Because the wind isn’t always blowing, or the sun always shining, battery storage systems hold onto electricity that is generated on those windy and sunny days until we need it most. Domestic energy demand peaks at breakfast time and again in the evening.
This stored energy can be accessed during high demand or when renewable sources aren’t available ensuring that a reliable and steady power supply reaches homes, businesses and the national grid. This helps balance the grid network and make the most of these renewable energy sources. At the moment, most of this balancing is done by burning carbon-intensive gas. Battery energy storage systems like Pond helps to provide a safe, sustainable solution.
By developing battery storage systems (BESS) rather than burning gas to meet short term demand we avoid significant CO2 emissions, helping to make the energy grid more efficient and facilitate more renewable energy generation supporting the UKs drive to net zero. This also helps to improve our energy security, and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels which are vulnerable to the kinds of sudden price rises seen in recent years.
Key stats
- LOCATION: Pond Industrial Estate, Whitburn Road, Bathgate
- ACCESS: Via M8 and A801
- TOTAL AREA: Up to 3 hectares
- CURRENT LAND USAGE: Industrial estate / carpark
- POTENTIAL ENERGY STORAGE: 200MW, two hour battery – enough to supply the peak demands of 240,000 homes for two hours (or the average demands of 600,000)
- INVESTMENT: Around £130M+
- CONSTRUCTION PERIOD: 18 months, delivering around £1.6 million in annual wages during the construction period.
- LIFE SPAN: Up to 50 years in operation
Let Us Know your views
We want to provide the local community with the opportunity to share their views so that we can listen to and understand local needs. This helps us to help us develop a project proposal that maximises social, economic and environmental benefits and leaves what we hope will be a positive long-lasting legacy for your local community. You can share your views in several ways:
- Take part in our survey and tell us what is important to you – click here to share your views.
- Give us a call or email us at pond@banksgroup.co.uk
What we’ve learned so far
Thank you to everyone who has attended one of our two public consultation events, completed our survey, and given us feedback on our proposals. So far our team has met with and listened to members of the community, the local community council and local ward councillors to understand your views about our proposals and we’ve learnt a great deal from those conversations.
What is important to you
- The external appearance of the site: Pond’s site is naturally well screened and will only be lit during operational visits, minimising visual impacts for residential properties and road users.
- Providing local businesses with contracting opportunities: We commit to prioritising local businesses as part of our Connect2Renewables initiative
- Protecting nature near to the site is important to the people of Bathgate: Our proposals will protect and enhance nature on site, boosting existing biodiversity.
- Regular communication with the community council is important: We are committed to providing regular updates to the community council and opportunities for meetings as the project progresses.
- Health and safety is important to local people: Pond Flexible Energy Park has been designed to the highest health and safety standards and if consented we will employ the latest technology to monitor the site 24/7.
Your feedback helps us deliver a project which responds to local needs, maximises the benefits of Pond Flexible energy Park could bring and helps to leave a positive legacy for the community.
Site location and boundary
Key project benefits
Potential project timeline
Connect2Renewables
Our local business initiative means that wherever possible, we prioritise local businesses when contracting for work onsite. As a result, our wind farms in South Lanarkshire have generated millions of pounds of investment in local businesses. For Pond, this will include civil engineering, groundworks, electrical works and construction opportunities.
Learn more about this program and our track record in delivering local investment here.