British renewable energy developer RES has secured its first consent for a battery energy storage system in Northern Ireland after Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved the Ballyross project near Larne, a milestone that matters to developers and investors because storage is a recognised response to the constraints limiting renewable output in Northern Ireland. The site is about 2 kilometres south-west of Gleno and 8.5 kilometres south-west of Larne, close to the existing Ballyvallagh substation.

RES is a British renewable energy developer that has operated from an office in Larne since the early 1990s.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is the local planning authority whose Planning Committee approved the project.

The approved scheme includes a substantial landscaping package of new native-species planting intended to help the development blend into the landscape and create wildlife corridors and pollinator-friendly habitat. RES says the site was chosen partly for its limited visibility from local properties, and the project is estimated to take about 20 months to build after a successful grid connection application.

Peter Deeney, senior development project manager at RES, said: “Securing consent for Ballyross, our first battery energy storage project to be consented in Northern Ireland, is an important milestone as we continue transforming the way energy is generated, stored and supplied.” Deeney added: “Battery storage is becoming increasingly important as Northern Ireland continues its transition to a low-carbon energy system.”

The constraint problem is concrete: Northern Ireland’s wind dispatch-down rate was 21.7% in 2025, including 18.5% from transmission constraints, against 11.3% in the Republic of Ireland.

The same analysis lists transmission expansion, more demand in constrained areas and energy storage as ways to reduce constraint-driven dispatch-down.

Reports differ on Ballyross’s capacity, with figures of 50MW and 120MW/480MWh published, so no capacity is stated here.

Solar Power Portal also reported that RES has applied for a separate storage project of up to 100MW near Rasharkin, County Antrim.

The application was submitted in November 2025 with a decision originally expected in summer 2026.

For the sector, consent for storage sited beside an existing substation shows developers pairing planning risk reduction with grid proximity as Northern Ireland tries to cut constraint losses.

Source: energynews.pro / reNEWS / Green Collective / Solar Power Portal / GreentechLead / Northern Ireland World