Cochno Road battery storage: Community fights green project

She expressed fears over the possible “vapour, chemicals and toxins” that would come off the site if it were to go on fire or explode, but also sadness at the loss of a much-loved green space.

“They’re taking away land families use,” Ms Hamilton said. “We’re classed as a deprived area and that deprived area needs that land to help them through. Some people don’t have cars, so all they have, when you need to get away from your box, is the countryside here.  Getting into nature can help your mental health. The developers should find another area, a brown-belt site.”

The campaign, called Save Our Countryside – Cochno Road, also pointed out that no element of community benefit is included in the proposal. 

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are considered a key element in providing a secure energy supply on the path to net zero, by enabling storage of energy from renewables and helping the grid to cope with fluctuating supply and demand. Their global rollout forms part of the fight against the climate crisis.  

If Cochno Road were to go ahead it would be larger, at 560MW, than the 450MW Hunterston battery complex, which is already in development and said to be one of the largest in Europe.

A consultation on the Cochno Road proposal took place last summer, but, the group complains, was chiefly advertised in East Dunbartonshire, where the development is planned, though Faifley in West Dunbartonshire is the chief community impacted.

Ms Hamilton said: “East Dunbartonshire knew about it before west. And it’s going to impact us, it’s not going to impact them. We've already got substations and the pylons all over Faifley and Drumchapel. Everything comes at us in the west.”

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Apatura, the company behind the proposal, told the Herald:  “As a section 36 application there is no requirement for consultation, however we followed Energy Consents Unit Good Practice Guidance in delivering two public consultation events”.

When Ms Hamilton learned of the development, she organised a meeting with the residents near Cochno Road and the campaign took off from there. Now over 700 have signed a petition, and there is a very active  Save Cochno Road Facebook page.

The campaigners highlighted the risks and dangers attached to battery storage sites. Ms Hamilton listed some: “Fires arising from the lithium batteries are difficult to extinguish. Vapour cloud production from thermal runaway. The developers don’t point out the hazards of the lithium batteries on their plan. They don’t focus on the vapour, chemicals and toxins that would come off this if it was to explode. ”

Campaigners from the Save Our Countryside - Cochno Road group

The site will contain lithium-ion cells inside large containment structures, similar to shipping containers, each 12.6 metres long.

Such cells, which are already ubiquitous in mobile phones, scooters and electric vehicles, are known to form a fire risk. The London Fire Brigade, for instance, has said it considers lithium-ion battery fires the fastest growing fire risk in the city, with, last year "on average, an e-bike or e-scooter fire once every two days.”

Among the problems that can affect lithium-ion cells  is what’s called “thermal runaway”. When a battery cell is heated beyond a certain temperature, a chemical reaction starts producing more heat, then firing off neighbouring cells and causing a cascade.

That said, most fires have involved e-scooters, bikes and vehicles. Grid batteries are more closely monitored and controlled and so far fires have been rare, but when they do happen they are serious, and potentially catastrophic.

In 2021 a fire at a Tesla battery bank in Queensland Australia burnt for three days before being brought under control.  Two years earlier, in Arizona, an explosive lithium BESS fire injured four firefighters, throwing one of them more than 20 metres. 

With a rapid growth in battery storage park sites (BESS) due to happen over the coming years  (963 are in the Transmission Energy Capacity register, so are either developed or proposed across the UK) safety is a key issue.

Cochno Road site developer, Apartura, noted that technology and precautions have advanced.

“The chances of an incident occurring,” a spokesperson said, “are extremely rare, and a number of measures are put in place to prevent this.”

“Each battery container will have a fire detection and suppression system and would be continually monitored by a battery management system, which would report any faults. If a fault is detected, there will be a series of measures used, such as automatic power disconnection, sprinklers and inert gases, which reduce the levels of oxygen available....

"There are advances in technology which ensure the risk of thermal runaway are mitigated and reduced.”

The company pointed out that such battery parks are part of the plan to tackle the climate emergency.

“As a result of the intermittent nature of renewables,” an Apatura spokesperson said, “such as when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, and the continuous requirement for the National Grid to balance grid frequency, battery storage provision will play a critical role in delivering clean green electricity.”

“Battery technology stores electricity at times of low demand, and then releases this into the grid at a time of high demand.”

Liz Paul and Jane Forbes who live near the proposed battery farm site

A key issue, said Sarah-Jane Hamilton, Margaret’s daughter, is that what is happening at Cochno does not feel like “just transition”. If the battery park were a windfarm or other renewable energy project, there would be guidance that the developers offer some community benefit.

“Battery storage facilities don’t fall within a remit of a renewable form of energy – they don't come under the Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme which has a set of guiding principles which include things like community consultation. But they should.”

“With this development," she added, "there’s no clear community benefit for the residents within Faifley – and if you look at the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation it’s one of the top 10 percent of areas in terms of disadvantages, so in terms of energy justice, there are principles they should follow.”

By contrast, also in West Dunbartonshire, there is a proposal for a large windfarm in the Vale of Leven, for which  Coriolis Energy has promised a community benefit package of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity.

READ MORE: Cochno Road druid stone at centre of battery storage battle

That said, some battery storage projects are delivering community benefit. For instance, a giant battery storage facility in Leicestershire has just been approved along with a community fund to support local projects of an initial £250,000, with £50,000 added each year for 40 years.

A spokesperson for Apatura said the company is "willing to provide a community benefit fund and this is something which will be discussed with the Councils / relevant stakeholders as the application progresses”.

Also of significant concern to the community is what they call the  “druid stone” at the edge of the land. The outcrop, covered in neolithic cup-and-ring marks, is one of a series of significant ancient rock carvings in the area, the biggest and most famous of which is the Cochno stone.

“In the planning application documents,” said Sarah-Jane Hamilton, “there is no word of the druid stone that sits adjacent to the site – no recognition of it."

But, even if the rock itself is not impacted by the development, just being on or at its edge, could, said Sarah-Jane Hamilton, “impact people’s experience when you come up to the stone”.

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “Residents who wish to make a representation on the application should forward this to the e-consents unit directly.

“The Council is a consultee of this application and is currently considering our response which will be presented to a future Planning Committee meeting before being formally submitted to the e-consents unit.”

The campaigners emphasise that they are not against climate action and energy transition. The group’s Facebook profile states: “We support the fight against climate change, however the benefits of this storage facility are superseded by the risks to local residents and the devastation it will cause to the countryside due to its location.”

One member said: “I only just learned about proposal recently and my first instinct was dismay that more of our beautiful moors, and therefore wildlife, are being taken from us. Also, trying not to be a nimby, I realise that we need to have an alternative to fossil fuels, but need to be certain that these alternatives are safe for our communities.”

To many in the community, the land is a green sanctuary. Margaret Hamilton said: “People use that land every day for their mental health. This is where we spend our time.  I was born here. My whole family lives here and we have so many memories going back. I brought my daughters up here. We did so much in the Cochno.  When you go up there, it’s like a different world. It’s so beautiful. The energy is amazing. You can feel connected to the land. It’s like our little haven.”