Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

Noise Impact Assessment form Battery Energy Storage Schemes

Clients: Ecocel Energy (Storage) Ltd, Harmony FL Limited, Ember Core Ltd

Architect: various

Project team: Scott Tunnah, Russell Macdonald

BESS schemes introduce noise to quiet rural soundscapes, posing a need for noise impact assessment and control.

Current industry trends are towards larger BESS schemes and co-location with renewables, with benefits from more efficient grid connection costs and wholesale optimisation.  Such increases in scale widens the potential for adverse noise impact.

RMP have undertaken a range of noise impact assessments for BESS and renewables schemes to varying Local Authority noise criteria.  We undertake these using noise modelling software to clearly illustrate noise propagation and impact to stakeholders.

Projects we have worked on include standalone large scale BESS schemes adjacent to existing sub-station infrastructure, co-location schemes at solar farms, and charging stations within bus depots.

Challenges typically include obtaining representative source height and noise emission data, acoustic barrier optimisation, and noise modelling of complex source layouts.  We have found it is vital to understanding the operational characteristics of the schemes, to allow presentation of realistic operational scenarios and refine the resulting noise impact context and potential mitigation.