The Coal Clough Hybrid Project is located adjacent to our operational Coal Clough Windfarm.
Introduction
ScottishPower Renewables (UK) Limited, (SPR) is developing Coal Clough Hybrid Project, comprising of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on the site of the existing operational Coal Clough Windfarm. The solar PV farm will export up to 10 Megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity to the wider electricity network, and the BESS will contribute to the overall efficiency of the Proposed Development, storing up to 6 Megawatt hours (MWh) of energy in times of low demand on the network.
Location
The Proposed Development, Coal Clough Hybrid Project, is located within the perimeters of the Coal Clough Windfarm at the Long Causeway, Cliviger, Burnley, Lancashire, approximately 6 kilometres (km) northwest of the village of Burnley in Lancashire, England. The Site is located wholly within the administrative area of Burnley Borough Council.
The Site is bounded to the north by an unclassified road, referred to as The Long Causeway, from which the operational Coal Clough Windfarm is accessed and from which access to the Site for the proposed Development would also be taken. The Site is surrounded by all other sides by agricultural land, some of which is within the Windfarm and the total area of the planning application boundary is 25.01 hectares.
Development & Project History
Coal Clough Windfarm was constructed in 1992 and was capable of generating up to 10 MW of cleaner greener energy. The Coal Clough Hybrid Project was consented by Burnley Borough Council on the 4th July 2022. Since this date, SPR has been progressing with post-consent and pre-commencement activities.
Design Considerations & Evolution
The Proposed Development will consist of ground mounted solar PV farm and BESS compound with associated infrastructure including housing for inverters, a substation compound as well as fencing, security cameras, cabling and access tracks.
The Solar PV farm is proposed to consist of rows of solar panels known as strings, mounted on racks comprising metal poles on concrete footings and orientated to face south at a 15-25˚ incline. Between each string of panels there would be a distance of between 3 m to 5 m to avoid inter-panel shading, depending on the topography with less space required on steeper slopes. The panels would be mounted at approximately 0.8 m from the ground at the lowest point (the southern edge) rising up to but not exceeding 3 m in height at the highest point (the northern edge).
The BESS compound consists of a battery contained within three 12.2 m x 2.5 m steel storage container buildings with a total height of 2.6 m each. The BESS also contains two transformers (2 m x 2 m each) and a switchgear kiosk measuring 5.5 m x 5.5 m with a height of 2.5 m. The BESS compound would be enclosed in 2.75 m high mesh fencing and the total area of the compound will be 624 m2.
The substation compound will be located adjacent the northern boundary of the Site. The 16 m x 12 m compound will contain two client-side substations, two client-side substations, a storage building and an office, surrounded by 2.4 m high paladin fencing. The maximum height of the buildings within the compound will be 3.4 m.
The indicative locations of the solar arrays and the ancillary development can be viewed in the Site Layout Plan. Further details on the finalised design will be available prior to commencement of construction.
Site Enhancements & Key Benefits
In addition to the generation of renewable energy by the Solar Farm, network balancing service provided by the BESS, and overall contribution to UK targets for renewable energy, the Coal Clough Hybrid Project will provide a host of landscape and ecological benefits for the site. Habitat enhancements, through grassland planting, along with landscape enhancement are designed to complement and build upon the environmental resources present on and adjacent to the Site. Some of these proposed enhancements are outlined below:
The location of the development has been selected to minimise impacts on the landscape and visual effects. Enhancement measures are proposed through new mixed native shrub planting to help screen the Development further as well as providing ecological enhancement;
The proposals include (but are not limited to) grassland enhancement and allowing the restoration of the wet modified bog on site. The existing grassland on site would be enhanced through an appropriate grazing regime, aimed at improving the sward structure and diversity.; and
There is opportunity to reinforce the landscape fabric of the site by localised reinstatement of the stone walls where they are in the poorest state of repair. This could be in specific areas in relation to the Public Right of Way (PRoW) routes through the site, and at the entrances to the site along the nearest road, thereby reinforcing the landscape strategies and meeting the recommendations within the landscape character assessment for LCT D: Moorland Fringes/Upland Pastures.
The proposed Landscape Layout Plan can be viewed here.
Community Consultation
Consultation is key to the way SPR develops projects and ensure that local communities and stakeholders are given the opportunity to provide feedback throughout the various stages.
As SPR progress with the Coal Clough Hybrid Project this webpage will be revised on a regular basis with project updates. You can contact the Project Team on the project mailbox address noted in the "Contact" section below.
Project Documents
Please click on the following link to view Coal Clough Hybrid Planning Documents
Contact
The Project Team can be contacted directly by email.