Sandford

Battery Storage

Aura Power is developing a battery energy storage project on land near Sandford in North Somerset.

If approved, Sandford Battery Energy Storage will be able to power over 100,000 homes per 4 hour cycle at times of peak demand. Compared to a gas peaker, using energy from this storage system would save 25,000 tonnes of CO2 each cycle.

The UK has a legally binding target to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050 as well as completely decarbonising the UK’s power supplies by 2035. In order to do this, we need more energy storage systems to deal with intermittent renewable energy generation. This is where batteries come in.

Battery storage systems, such as this, play a crucial role in the decarbonisation of our electricity network with much-needed increases in renewable energy sources. Batteries store excess energy at times of low demand i.e. from a solar farm on a sunny day, and discharge the energy back into the grid when it is needed the most.

Latest News

June 2025 - The planning application has now been submitted to North Somerset Council and is available to view and comment on at the link below. We thank everyone who took part in our pre-planning public consultation events and will keep those who engaged with us updated on the project.

Click here to view planning application

The recorded webinar and exhibtion boards from our public consultation events can be found further down this page.

March 2025

Initial plans presented at public exhibitions to gain feedback from local community.

June 2025

Planning application submitted to North Somerset District Council. We will work with the Council's Planning Officers to address all elements of the scheme.

Winter 2025 - Summer 2026

Continue to engage with local community and take on board comments to address.

Summer 2026

Anticipated decision on the planning application.

2029

Anticipated construction year. Construction is expected to take around 6-9 months.

Key Facts & Benefits

100000

equivalent number of homes powered per Cycle

25000

tonnes of CO2 saved per Cycle

130000

equivalent number of electric cars powered per Cycle

Contributes to local and national targets
Net gains in biodiversity
Jobs created during construction and local suppliers prioritised
Community Funding
Local School Visits
Over £300,000 a year in business rates to local Council

Consulting with the local community is very important to us and a crucial part of getting our plans right.

To gain as much feedback as we can and ensure local people are well informed, we held an online event as well as an in person public exhibition in Sandford on Wednsday 26th March 2025. We thank everyone who came along and engaged with us and remain available for any further discussions.

The recorded webinar is available to view below and the exhibtion boards are available to view in the 'Useful Links' box.

The feedback received has been incorporated into our planning application. Please view our Statement of Community involvement found in our planning application for full details on the community engagement undertaken to date.

Please contact Chloe should you have any queries or concerns you would like to discuss: 

chloe.hood@aurapower.com

0117 214 1971

25.3.25

Our Proposal

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SITE LOCATION ON GOOGLE MAPS

•This site has been carefully selected due to: 

  • Immediately adjacent to a large National Grid substation
  • Limited visibility and appropriate setback from nearby residential properties
  • Suitable access via an existing haul road avoiding numerous residential properties

Our proposal is for a 100 MW battery storage facility. The development will have limited visibility from the surrounding area and covers an area of around 3 acres. We will also be improving the landscaping features around the proposed site to provide additional visual screening and biodiversity enhancements. 

  • Environmental studies underway including; visual impact, heritage, ecology, highways, noise and hydrology
  • Community feedback will help shape the design before we submit a planning application

Projected Views

Contact Us

Your feedback is very important to us. Please leave a comment and one of our project team will get back to you as soon as possible.

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