Reclaiming brownfield sites through the deployment of battery energy storage systems

Brownfield sites, once home to industry, transport hubs or commercial developments, offer a powerful yet underutilised solution for the UK's energy transition. By deploying battery energy storage systems on these sites, we can enhance grid stability, accelerate renewable energy adoption and breathe new life into neglected land.

In the race to decarbonise our energy system, we're often so focused on the technology that we overlook something equally crucial: where to put it. As the demand for clean energy storage solutions intensifies, the question of land use becomes increasingly pressing.

In 2022, charity CPRE identified 23,002 brownfield sites covering 27,342 hectares of land in England. This vast resource sits largely untapped at a time when battery energy storage systems (BESS) are rapidly becoming the backbone of our renewable energy transition.