Apatura Ltd had requested an opinion from South Ayrshire Council back in April on the need for an environmental impact assessment to go alongside its plans for the Mosshill Battery Energy Storage System.
The site would be located on land at Clonmacate Farm, east of the hospital, just off the A713.
The system will store up to 200MW of energy, alongside associated infrastructure including a substation, security fencing, CCTV, security lighting and landscaping.
The scheme would connect to the Ayr substation, located approximately 2.9km northwest of the proposed site.
The total site at the first application was to be around five hectares, and would be “temporary for around 40 years”.
Following this, the development would be decommissioned and the land returned to its original state.
An amended application for a screening opinion on a potential EIA has now been lodged, with an additional site area of less than 0.5 hectares.
This is in order to create a second access to the scheme, which involves upgrading the existing access to Clonmacate Farm.
The proposed development would comprise a number of containerised units to house the BESS and associated ancillary infrastructure.
Each container will have the appearance of a standard metal shipping container.
The compound would be enclosed by a 2.4m high perimeter fence, with infra-red CCTV cameras.
The construction process would take between 12 and 18 months, and additional vegetation would be planted around the site to minimise its visual impact.
Apature says it believes that the development would not have any significant effects on the environment, and argue that an EIA would not be required.
South Ayrshire Council is being consulted as the planning authority, but the final decision will be made by Scottish ministers.
The full application can be viewed on South Ayrshire Council’s planning portal by searching for the reference code 24/00899/EIASCR.