As part of its Targeted Consultation, Kingsway Solar is proposing substantial increases in the size of its substations and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) compounds across Development Areas A, B and C.
These changes are significant. They do not represent minor refinements, but a fundamental expansion of infrastructure that raises important questions about why the batteries are needed, why they were not properly designed from the outset and what this means for local impacts.
Why is BESS included at all?
Solar panels only produce electricity when the sun is shining. Battery storage is increasingly paired with large solar farms because, without storage, electricity generated on sunny summer days can exceed demand, forcing operators to reduce or “curtail” output.
Why battery storage is really valuable
However, battery storage is not just there to support renewable energy or prevent wasted electricity.
A recent report published by SOS (Stop Oversized Solar) explains that the main financial value of large batteries comes from buying and selling electricity at different times of day and from providing services that help keep the national electricity grid stable.
Used in this way, battery storage can generate very significant income each year, making it one of the most profitable parts of a large solar scheme.
In simple terms, battery storage is not just a back-up for solar panels. It is a major commercial operation that changes how electricity from the site is used, traded and priced and it plays a key role in why such large battery installations are being proposed.
What the recent changes tell us
Kingsway Solar now confirms that:
- Substations and BESS compounds were significantly under-sized in the original design
- “Further detailed engineering work” has led to major increases in land take
- These requirements were not identified prior to the statutory consultation
The scale of what is now proposed is striking. The BESS compound would extend roughly the length of Balsham High Street from bus stop to bus stop, comparable in size to Weston Colville or Weston Green. Each substation is now around the size of a churchyard, excluding additional land for access, security and emergency infrastructure.
It is possible that some of this expansion reflects feedback received during the statutory consultation, particularly around fire safety, such as wider spacing between battery containers and provision for firewater and contaminated run-off storage. If so, this raises a critical question: why were these requirements not incorporated from the outset?
What this means for the community
While improved safety measures are essential, they do not remove the fundamental risks and impacts associated with large-scale battery storage in a sensitive rural location. Larger compounds mean:
- Greater land take and loss of mitigation space
- Increased visual, noise and landscape impacts
- More intensive industrial infrastructure embedded in open countryside
The recent analysis also highlights a wider policy concern: when solar is paired with batteries used for trading and grid services, it ceases to be the cheapest form of electricity, with costs potentially exceeding those of offshore wind. This raises important questions about who ultimately benefits from such schemes, and who bears the impacts.
Why this matters now
The expansion of BESS and substations under the targeted consultation reinforces concerns that the original scheme was not sufficiently developed when the public was first consulted. Core infrastructure requirements were missed, leading to late, significant changes with real consequences for land use, landscape and local communities.
Residents still have an opportunity to comment on these changes.
What you can do: Tell Kingsway this is not what you asked – respond directly by email at enquiries@kingswaysolar.co.uk or by post to FREEPOST DOWNING KINGSWAY (no stamp required). If emailing, please copy KSCA at hello@kingswayaction.org into your email.
For further information visit the Kingsway Solar website: https://kingswaysolarfarm.co.uk/consultation
The deadline for responses is 4 February.