FARMLAND on the edge of York could be used to store electricity.

Renewable energy company Sulis Environmental has approached City of York Council about whether it needs to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment concerning possible plans at Gells Farm, Murton.

The Bath-based company seeks the Screening Opinion for a 50MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on 1.4ha of Grade 3 farmland.

The company says the site has no planning permission but a similar scheme approved several years ago exists to the south of the site.

Sulis continued: “This submission has been identified as having viable potential due to its known land use designation, its proximity to Electricity Grid Infrastructure and the availability of sufficient land to deliver the scheme.

“Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) are a sub-set of Energy Storage Systems (ESSs), that allow for the capture energy and store it for use at a later time or date.

The company said the site is not in an identified Flood or Ground Water Protection Zone. It would not “cause the irreversible loss of best and most versatile land” and would have limited impact on agricultural productivity, with the site able to be restored back to farmland later.

The scheme would also have negligible environmental impact, producing no pollutants during its operation, they added.