Feature
The battery farm next door
Giant batteries are being built on farmland across Europe. Neighbours want to know what happens if one catches fire.
Energy correspondent
8 min read
Battery containers at a storage site next to a solar farm.
The containers arrived on a Tuesday: forty of them, white and windowless, lined up on what used to be a potato field.
They hold enough electricity to power 30,000 homes for two hours. For the grid, they are essential. For the village, they are a mystery.
Why the grid needs them
Batteries store solar power at midday and release it in the evening. Without them, more wind and solar farms would be switched off.
“Nobody explained anything. We found out from the planning notice,” one neighbour said.
Safety and trust
Fires at battery sites are rare but hard to extinguish. Operators say modern systems have multiple safeguards. Residents are asking for local emergency plans and a seat at the table.
Topics
Mara Ellison
Energy correspondent
Mara covers power grids, energy prices and the politics of the transition from Brussels.
