West Boldon Substation (60 MW battery storage)
West Boldon Substation is a 60 MW battery storage project in South Tyneside, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: approved on 10 December 2024, not yet built; the record was last updated on 15 July 2025.
60 MWbattery storage
approved, not builtstatus in REPD
15 July 2025record last updated
South Tynesidecouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 17 July 2023 | Application submitted |
| 21 June 2024 | Refused by the planning authority |
| 20 September 2024 | Appeal lodged |
| 10 December 2024 | Planning permission granted |
| 10 December 2024 | Appeal allowed |
| 10 December 2027 | Permission due to expire (unless work starts) |
Project details
- Technology
- battery storage (stand-alone storage)
- Capacity
- 60 MW
- Status (REPD)
- approved, not built
- Record last updated
- 15 July 2025
- Operator or applicant
- Whirlwind Energy Storage Limited
- Planning authority
- South Tyneside
- Planning application reference
- ST/0486/23/FUL
- Appeal reference
- APP/A4520/W/24/3350689
- Address (REPD)
- East of the West Boldon Substation, 400 metres south of the A184 and 300m East of the A189 in South Tyneside
- Council area (by location)
- South Tyneside
- Time to decision
- 73 weeks
- Name in REPD
- West Boldon Substation - Battery Energy Storage
- REPD reference
- 14408
Who decides
| Applications | South Tyneside | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 12 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 1 (8%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 0 of 9 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 0 of 1 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 1 of 2 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 6.1 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 1 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Road Solar Farm | solar farm | 20 | approved, not built | 2.0 |
| Woodhouse Farm | solar farm | 11 | refused | 3.8 |
| Port of Tyne | battery storage | 35 | operational | 4.3 |
| Church Bank | battery storage | 100 | application submitted | 4.4 |
| E/o the Academy Of Light, Sunderland Road Solar Farm | solar farm | 40 | application submitted | 4.7 |
| Usworth House Farm, Peareth Hall Road Solar Farm | solar farm | 27.3 | refused | 5.5 |
| Fox Cover Road | battery storage | 30 | approved, not built | 5.9 |
| Hastings Hill Farm, Foxcover Road | battery storage | 38 | approved, not built | 6.2 |
| Standby Embedded Stor Power Plant | battery storage | 20 | under construction | 7.3 |
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 (54.9389, -1.4674).