The cause of a fire at the 7 MW/9 MWh Rufford Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Nottinghamshire, England, has been identified as a short circuit within the facility’s NMC battery technology. The incident, which occurred on the morning of May 1 at the site operated by Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID), was quickly contained by emergency responders. With no injuries reported, the company announced that it would accelerate plans to replace older battery technologies across its portfolio and further strengthen safety standards, providing reassurance to both investors and local communities.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to reports of the incident at the energy storage facility located on Colliery Lane in Rainworth at 5:21 a.m. Gresham House confirmed that it worked closely with emergency services throughout the event and that the fire was brought under control in a short period of time. All personnel on site were safely evacuated, and authorities stated that the incident posed no health risks to nearby residents.
Technical investigations later revealed that the fire originated from a short circuit in the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery cells installed at the facility. According to Gresham House, NMC technology represents only 4.03% of the company’s overall portfolio, and no new battery storage projects have utilized NMC batteries since 2020. Commissioned in 2017, the Rufford facility accounts for less than 0.5% of the fund’s total installed storage capacity of approximately 1.7 GWh.
The company also noted that modernization and upgrade work for the Rufford battery units had already been scheduled to begin just four days after the incident, on May 5. Following the fire, the timeline was revised, with refurbishment activities set to commence on May 18. Gresham House emphasized its commitment to accelerating the replacement of legacy technologies with safer and more advanced alternatives in order to protect local communities while safeguarding investor interests.
Source: Solarbaba – In Turkish
