BESS: Is bigger always better?

Even before the Labour Government's ascent to power, clean energy projects (particularly ground-mounted solar PV and battery energy storage (BESS)) have been steadily increasing in size, with project promoters actively considering the merits of scaling-up their projects, so that they qualify as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

The Labour Government has clearly shown its support for DCO-scale solar and BESS projects by granting consent to three such projects on 12 July 2024. And whilst scaling-up projects has its advantages (notably in terms of anticipated returns and 'ease' in securing the necessary land rights via CPO powers), it does not necessarily come without its own challenges.

DCO-scale projects

Kutahya Cherry and Kee Evans recently presented at Solar and Storage Live 2024 on the topic of DCO-scale projects, covering the key things that developers should consider when contemplating this scale of project from both a property and a planning perspective. The talk received excellent feedback and covered key do's and don'ts as well as some pointers on strategy.

The key messaging is:

• To determine your project limits as early as possible.
• To think 'full picture' early.
• Get your land sorted early and try to get equalization at heads of terms stage when dealing with multiple landowners,
• Try to get as much flexibility into how you can use the land as possible, particularly if different land uses would accord a different rental.
• Where title insurance may have been your failsafe on smaller projects, it is not necessarily always suitable or available for projects of this scale and while CPO powers can assist, these need to be carefully considered and applied for.
• Match your plans and your due diligence extremely carefully.
• Consider delivery and beyond right from the outset because it is much harder to make changes later on under the DCO regime.

If you would like more information about any of the topics highlighted above, please get in touch with our experts.