Asked by: Lola McEvoy (Labour - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to strengthen fire safety regulations for battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In GB, fires at battery sites are rare and are mitigated by a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025)[1], lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24)[2].
To complement this regulation, DEFRA is consulting on including batteries within the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and provides for ongoing regulatory inspections.
[1] https://modoenergy.com/indices/industry-metrics?r=gb&m=operationalSites
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics-monitor
Asked by: Lola McEvoy (Labour - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many projects are waiting to be connected to the National Grid in Darlington constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold data on projects awaiting a grid connection on a constituency basis. The latest national register for transmission connections is available at https://www.neso.energy/data-portal/transmission-entry-capacity-tec-register/tec_register_-_25_february_2025 and for distribution connections in the North-East at https://northernpowergrid.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/embedded-capacity-register/information/?disjunctive.local_authority&disjunctive.point_of_connection_poc_voltage_kv