Eighteen 20ft containers included in application to Longford County Council

Ion Renewables Ltd have submitted a planning application to Longford County Council seeking permission to construct a “battery energy storage facility” on a site in Ballykenny, Cloondara.

The application for the facility, which is proposed to include eighteen 20ft containers with 5 medium voltage transformers, also requests permission for the construction of a single storey sub-station building along with a GRP kiosk and acoustic fence in addition to all associated development works.

Read more: Slurry tank and shed building planning permission changes due

The site, which is owned by Mr. David McCann, is situated next to the Richmond 110kV electrical substation.

The planning application included several reports, one of which was a fire report conducted by Senior Fire Engineer, David Gannon, of Eamon O’Boyle & Associates.

Mr Gannon stated in his report that the proposed facility would use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which, he said, is “a safer” type of lithium-ion technology that is more stable and “less prone to thermal runaway,” the term given to when a battery cell overheats and is difficult to bring under control, thus potentially resulting in extreme heat, fire, etc.

The report said the design and layout of the facility followed fire safety standards and that the battery units would be housed in enclosures with 60 minutes of fire resistance.

According to the report, the proposed units would be situated more than 5 metres from nearby buildings or boundaries. The facility would automatically shut down equipment in the event of a fire, and would not contain sprinklers but rather a gas system that would deal with any fire inside the units. Fire brigade access would also be provided to enable the fire service “to flood the container with water in the event of failure of all safety systems.”

A noise impact assessment, carried out by acoustic consultant Glen Plunkett, stated that the proposed development would include 12 BESS units and 22 transformer/inverter containers that would run 24/7. According to the assessment, the noise will mainly come from the cooling systems and transformers.

Mr Plunkett’s report stated that a 4.5-metre-high noise reducing fence would block and absorb most of the sound, and “with the planned noise-reduction measures in place, the facility is expected to have a low impact on the surrounding community.”

Read more: Carrigy secures overflow bus solution for Longford students

Construction of the proposed facility is expected to take 3-4 months to complete. A decision on the application will be due on November 12. Submissions from the public are open until October 22.