Councillors have approved an application for a development to store excess electricity on Green Belt land.

The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will store excess energy generated by renewable facilities.

Tewkesbury Borough Council's Planning Committee has approved the facility for a temporary period of 40 years, on land north of the A417 near Brockworth.

The BESS will have a capacity of approximately 20MW and will connect by an underground cable to the existing 33kV overhead electricity distribution line, which crosses the site. It will include 16 containerised lithium-ion battery units housed in containers (each 2.5m wide x 6.1m long x 3.1m high) and eight inverter units housed in containers (each 2.5m wide, x 6.1m long x 3.1m high).

It will be located on approximately 2.3ha of agricultural land immediately north of the A417 and between M5 Junction 11a and Brockworth Road, on the southern edge of the Green Belt.

While the new development won't produce renewable energy, like a solar farm, BESS facilities are key, because they are able to store excess electricity generated by renewable energy facilities when demand is low, and release energy to the grid at periods of high demand.

The UK requires this sort of electricity storage facility to balance energy demand without resorting to fossil fuel generation.

The committee also approved plans for a solar farm at Twigworth.