Wakefield and District Travellers Association say it would be like living next to a “ticking time bomb” if the scheme at Heath Common is approved. Harmony Energy want to build the battery energy storage system on farmland next to the traveller site. If approved, 72 containers storing lithium ion batteries could be installed on greenbelt farmland. Fire chiefs have raised concerns for public safety if there was an explosion at the site.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Harmony Energy insists that this plan is renewable and will help this country achieve its net zero ambitions. But there is nothing renewable about this plan. “It is an industrial unit that will plug into the nearby sub-station meaning whatever energy it stores, will always be a partial mix of fossil fuel and other energy sources from the national grid.