Renewable energy storage at Drax has been approved.

Despite opposition, plans to build a battery storage plant for renewable energy in a North Yorkshire community have been approved.

When demand from the National Grid is low, the site at Drax, near Selby, will store electricity produced at Drax Power Station.

Residents, on the other hand, were concerned about the loss of agricultural land and its influence on the hamlet.

The 0.7 hectare (1.73 acre) site was approved by Selby District Council.

The site, which is 2,000 feet (600 meters) from the power plant, would store enough energy to power 26,000 homes, according to applicant Aura Power.

One of the disadvantages of renewable energy, according to firm representative George Wilyman, is that electricity generation cannot be managed to match consumer demand.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he stated that the batteries will store electricity during periods of high generation and release it as needed to the grid.

“It will also help the UK’s objective to attain energy security greatly,” he added.

Drax, a rural community that was once a coal-fired power station, is now the UK’s largest renewable power facility, burning wood pellets.

Diane Hall, a parish councillor, was one of the 20 persons who spoke out against the idea.

“Drax is a rural community despite the scale of the power station – the people would prefer to preserve it that way,” she wrote in a statement read to the committee.

Given the location, Conservative councillor Charles Richardson called the proposal “inconceivable.”

Five other battery facilities in Drax and the surrounding area had either been approved or had plans submitted for approval, according to the committee.

Conservative Councillor John Mackman said the cumulative impact of all these facilities will become an issue at some point since the neighborhood does not want to “be overwhelmed.”

He did, however, state that he would support the plan.