MS raises safety and end-of-life questions over ‘battery farms’

Issues around the ‘unintended consequences’ of so called battery farms have been raised in the Senedd.

The question is topical, as we have reported Novus Renewable Services is working on a proposal for an Energy Storage System (ESS) on land at Bersham, near Rhostyllen. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​The development would primarily consist of liquid cooled batteries, the size of a shipping container. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The purpose of these transformers is to raise and lower the voltage for export and import between the site and the National Grid. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The development site covers approximately 37 acres located in fields to the east of the Legacy National Grid substation and west of the A483. It is currently proposed that the development will be situated across two fields either side of the B5097. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The issue of ‘battery farms’ was raised in the Senedd yesterday to Minister for Climate Change Julie James, with issues around what happens once the facilities reach the end of their life.

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates asked, “In supporting the move to green energy, we must obviously be mindful of unintended consequences with regard to biodiversity. In my view, hydrogen offers great potential to deliver reliable and clean energy with minimum impact on biodiversity. Now, other forms of energy generation may become dependent on the creation of vast battery storage facilities, and nearly 400 sites across the UK are either operational or in development.

“There have been numerous explosions around the world at these sites, including nearby Clwyd South and in Liverpool. Now, environmentalists and scientists have raised concerns about noise, chemicals and catastrophic consequences of exploding battery sites, which can result in toxic clouds and poisonous water run-off.

“Minister, could you outline the Welsh Government’s position regarding the development of lithium-ion battery farms the impact on biodiversity? Also, has the Welsh Government determined whether the disposal of end-of-life solar panels and electric car batteries will be conducted in Wales, as there are obvious fears that the world’s poorest nations will end up having toxic materials dumped on them?”

The Minister replied at length, “As we all know, climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss and, so, clean energy will be absolutely vital in reaching net zero and tackling both the climate and nature emergencies. We’re very committed to the transition to a clean energy system, powered by renewable energy, very much including hydrogen as part of that mix. But it also does require storage and flexibility and we will need to ensure the safe disposal of end-of-life technology, including things like batteries and solar panels, exactly due to the harm that they could pose to the environment, as you’ve outlined.

“So, we’ve got the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 in place, which introduced a system of producer responsibility that requires producers of electrical and electronic equipment to take responsibility for arranging the separate collection, treatment and recycling of electrical products. The regulations have a specific category for solar panels to ensure that the financing of the collection and recycling of domestic and non-domestic waste solar panels is applied fairly. That means that waste producers can contact the producer or seller of their panels, who will arrange the take-back of the items free of charge to recycle them.

“We’ve also got the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, which introduced a similar system of producer responsibility. Again, they must provide a free-of-charge take-back service from the end user. And in partnership with the other Governments in the UK, the Welsh Government are currently reviewing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations and the battery regulations and the producer responsibility requirements, including considering measures to further promote the wider recovery and reuse of end-of-life electrical products as well as improving recycling of old battery chemistry types as part of the transition to a circular economy. Waste recycling and disposal facilities in the UK require an environmental permit to prevent harm to human health or the environment, and the conditions of the site permit are enforced by UK environmental regulators.

“And then just to say, as well as that, Ken, that we’re very proud of our recycling performance, as you know, but amongst the things that we’re proud of is how much of that is reprocessed here in Wales. So, I think the point you make about not exporting the problem to countries where it’s less likely to be dealt with properly is a very good one. And amongst the ambitions of the Welsh Government are to recycle—well, we’re up to 80 per cent—up to 100 per cent, really, of everything we produce here and, actually, to be able to mine that old equipment for new resource as part of our circular economy effort. And I’m very pleased to say that we are attracting reprocessors, as they’re called, to Wales now who want to get hold of our recyclate, so this will be very much part of that mix.”