Battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Root-Power has been awarded planning permission for a new 50MW/100MWh BESS in Reading.
The Withy Place BESS will be located in Silchester. It was chosen because it is ideally placed close to Bramley substation, which is less than 500m away from the site and was recently reinforced as part of a long-term development strategy for the local network.
The project is located on green belt land, and Root-Power states that it has worked to ensure that the development is visually inkeeping with the surrounding agricultural area, as well as creating complex acoustic engineering to ensure there is no net increase in background noise levels. In order to achieve this, Root-Power worked closely with the local ecology team and the highways department in the local planning authority, also ensuring that existing trees and hedgerows around the development would be preserved.
Neil Brooks, managing director at Root-Power, called the solutions used to secure planning permission on the green belt land a “testament to the capabilities of our development team”. He added that the project “will form a key part of our plans for the next few years.”
A 2027 connection date has been secured for the two-hour duration BESS, and construction onsite is expected to begin in early 2026.
A big year for Root-Power
This is the sixth BESS that Root-Power has secured planning permission for in the last three months, and the fourth to be located on green belt land. Last week, the company announced that it has been granted planning permission for a 30MW/60MWh BESS in Greater Manchester, the Ellen Road BESS. In contrast to the Withy Place BESS, this development will be located next to the M62 motorway near Rochdale, Greater Manchester, a site chosen for its limited agricultural potential and high levels of ambient background noise.
In February, Root-Power announced that planning permission had been granted for a 40MW/80MWh BESS in Rotherham; much like the Ellen Road BESS, this is also located adjacent to a major motorway. Earlier that same month, the company secured planning consent for the Dounreay BESS, a 34MW/68MWh project to be located in the Scottish Highlands; once connected to the grid in 2026, the BESS will serve North Scotland and the Orkney Islands.
In late January, the developer was awarded planning consent for a project located in Selby, North Yorkshire. Once completed, the 40MW/80MWh Osgodby BESS will bring a biodiversity net gain of 40.72% and local road upgrades to the area.
Since its launch last year, Root-Power has targeted an ambitious pipeline. Shortly after launching as a specialised BESS offshoot of YLEM Energy, the developer appointed planning consultancy firms Lanpro, PWA Planning, RCA Regeneration, ELG Planning, and Clive Fagg Planning, to accelerate the delivery of a bumper 40-project BESS pipeline.
