The Government risks repeating the mistakes of Grenfell unless safety regulations on battery storage units are brought forward, an MP has warned.
Liberal Democrat John Milne said there were “alarming parallels” with the systemic failure which led to the west London tower block fire.
Currently there are no laws which specifically govern the safety of battery energy storage systems (Bess), according to the House of Commons library. However, individual batteries could be subject to product safety regulations.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Milne accused the Government of being “too complacent” as he called for enforceable regulations for the design and construction of the storage systems.
The MP for Horsham said: “The Grenfell disaster was the end result of many failings by both individuals and companies, but at its heart it was a failure of regulation.
“The rules left things wide open for exploitation by cost-cutting developers, and that is exactly what happened.
“Just as with lithium-ion batteries, a new technology, in this case cladding, was being used at scale for the first time without proper understanding of the risks. The time to act is now.”
He continued: “The Government itself has responded to all questions from myself and others to say that it considers the present regulatory regime to be robust. I am tempted to say pride comes before a fall.
“In the last few weeks a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman has stated that battery fires at storage sites are rare in the UK, we already have high standards in place that require manufacturers and industry to ensure batteries are safe throughout their lifespan.
“This is just too complacent.
“Fires as a result of cladding were also incredibly rare, but that did not save 72 lives at Grenfell.”
Mr Milne said the industry would benefit from clear guidance, before adding: “Any guidance needs to cover-off a number of areas, including transport of batteries to the site, design and construction, fire-fighting, ongoing inspection and decommissioning.
“In the short term, if the Government is for any reason still reluctant to regulate, perhaps it could issue clear national guidelines which are capable of being updated annually.
“Enforcement might then take place through the insurance industry, who would be likely to insist that any new applications followed such guidelines, as no project can go ahead without insurance, it is enforcement by the back door.
“Grenfell was a wholly predictable tragedy. A similar fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell, which killed six people, should have made us understand the risk, but the warning wasn’t heeded and history took its course.
“We can’t go back in time to stop Grenfell, but we can act now to avoid making the same mistake again with battery energy storage systems.”
Elsewhere in the debate, Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire Greg Smith said there should be minimum distances between battery storage sites and housing.
Mr Smith said: “This is not a debate about the principle of energy storage, although I am in principle opposed to such schemes taking agricultural land and challenging our food security, but today’s debate, which is deeply concerning, and what this House must urgently address, are the real, growing, and too often overlooked safety implications of these installations, particularly when placed in close proximity to villages, and rural road networks ill-equipped to support them.”
He added: “At the very least the Government should introduce clear national guidelines on the siting of Bess installations, including minimum separation distances from residential properties, fire resilience standards, mandatory site-specific risk assessments and restrictions on placing these facilities on, or near, rural roads.”
SNP MP for Aberdeen North, Kirsty Blackman, said developers should pay towards fire mitigation measures.
She said: “If we’re saying to those organisations that are creating the battery storage sites, you will need to pay for the fire safety assessment, you will need to consult the local fire and you will need to pay for the training of those local fire teams in tackling fires at battery energy storage sites, I think that would be the most reasonable way forward.
“Ask them to pay for that training, because it’s them that are going to be making a huge profit off it.”
Energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “It is often claimed that there is no regulation in this sector because there is no specific law addressing battery safety. This is simply untrue.
“The safety and standards of batteries are assured throughout their life cycle. The Government is therefore confident that the safety risks posed by grid-scale batteries are relatively small and well managed.”
She added there is “scope to strengthen” the planning process.
