Native River (57 MW battery storage)
Native River is a 57 MW battery storage project in Cheshire West and Chester, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 14 April 2025; the record was last updated on 28 April 2025.
57 MWbattery storage
operationalstatus in REPD
28 April 2025record last updated
Cheshire West and Chestercouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 17 December 2020 | Application submitted |
| 16 April 2021 | Planning permission granted |
| 1 July 2023 | Construction started |
| 14 April 2025 | Operational |
Project details
- Technology
- battery storage (stand-alone storage)
- Capacity
- 57 MW
- Status (REPD)
- operational
- Record last updated
- 28 April 2025
- Operator or applicant
- Varco Energy
- Planning authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Planning application reference
- 20/04767/FUL
- Address (REPD)
- Adj Electricity Substation
- Council area (by location)
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Time to decision
- 17 weeks
- REPD reference
- 8283
Who decides
| Applications | Cheshire West and Chester | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 54 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 6 (11%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 40 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 1 of 2 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 2 of 12 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 10.1 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 2 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capenhurst Lane, Capenhurst | battery storage | 57 | under construction | 0.4 |
| Capenhurst Lane, Capenhurst | battery storage | 100 | approved, not built | 1.0 |
| National Grid Electricity Substation, Capenhurst Lane | battery storage | 100 | operational | 1.0 |
| Rectory Lane | battery storage | 200 | approved, not built | 1.3 |
| Mollington | battery storage | 240 | approved, not built | 2.5 |
| Cheshire Power Station | battery storage | 45 | approved, not built | 4.3 |
| Land West Of Vicarage Lane | solar farm | 5 | application submitted | 4.6 |
| Oil Sites Road | battery storage | 9.6 | approved, not built | 5.4 |
| Shotwick Solar Farm | solar farm | 72.2 | operational | 5.8 |
Status and dates as recorded in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract); the database is compiled from public sources and can lag behind council decisions. Location: REPD grid reference (53.2649, -2.9461).