Carrog BESS
Addressing environmental and community concerns
Careful project siting to minimise ecological and visual impact
Proactive community engagement and bilingual communication
Lighthouse successfully secured planning permission for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on the Isle of Anglesey. The project was developed to support the region’s growing need for renewable energy infrastructure, aiming to enhance grid resilience by storing excess energy generated from renewable sources. This case study highlights the essential elements that led to a positive planning outcome, including the project’s careful siting approach, community engagement efforts, environmental considerations, and the effective collaboration with the local authority.
CHALLENGE
The location was sensitive due to multiple energy developments in the vicinity, raising community concerns about cumulative impacts on the landscape and resources.
SOLUTION
The site was well located and designed to minimise environmental impacts, in particular, ensuring that there would be no intervisibility with the AONB to the north, no conflict with buried archaeology and appropriate buffer distances observed to all ecologically sensitive features of the site.
LESSONS LEARNED
It was essential that the local community were actively informed and engaged in the planning process and the developer displayed a real commitment to the use of Welsh language. Engagement with key agencies helped to engender a level of public support for the project whilst a strong community benefit contribution will ensure that the community directly share in the success of the scheme.
Strong visual aides were really useful in explaining the site selection process and the highlighting the on-site planning constraints which shaped the design.
