The Scottish Ministers have decided to grant permission, with conditions, for a 200MW BESS to be built in the field next to Dalkeith School Campus. When the proposal was initially lodged, Dalkeith & District Community Council put in an objection to the proposal, the main concern being that of safety. Unfortunately Midlothian Council in their response said they had concerns about the scheme but also said they had no objections.
The main concern regarding the safety of the pupils and staff on the school campus stems from the fact that the proposal is to use a bank of Lithium Ion batteries which are known to be a significant fire risk and when they burn reach very high temperatures indeed (because of an effect known as “thermal runaway” and give off toxic fumes. A fire in a similar but smaller BESS on Merseyside burned for 57 hours before being brought under control. (And interestingly, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service did not submit any response to the planning proposal for the Salters Rd. BESS)
There are however new battery technologies which are safe, such as Vanadium Redox Flow (VRF) now becoming available (and they are made in Scotland.) which could replace the dangerous Lithium Ion batteries.