Fire in two battery containers at Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm, Gloucestershire

What happened

In March 2025, in the mid afternoon, a fire was reported at the Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm, a hybrid site on Witpit Lane, Preston, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, operated by Gridserve, combining ground mounted solar generation with a co-located lithium-ion battery energy storage system. Fire and rescue crews attended with appliances from local stations, supported by further appliances from neighbouring services, with more than 40 firefighters in attendance in total, using high volume pumps and specialist equipment.

The fire was described as an electrical installation fire involving two shipping container sized battery enclosures. Crews prevented the fire from spreading to a third container. Thick black smoke was visible from surrounding areas and residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed because of smoke from burning battery materials and plastic casings. Nearby roads were closed during the response. A stop message was recorded at about 22:00 local time. A reporter visiting the following day observed that the solar arrays appeared unaffected. The cause was under investigation at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

Public statements attributed to Gridserve, the site operator, and the fire service at the time characterised the incident as an electrical installation fire affecting battery storage containers, with the investigation ongoing. No cause had been confirmed in the material reviewed. The following are general risk categories recognised in industry commentary for co-located solar and storage sites, not findings about this site: (1) thermal runaway in lithium-ion cells, where a single overheated cell can initiate a propagating event; (2) degraded or underperforming thermal management; (3) electrical faults, arc flash and short circuit risk at converter and AC interface equipment, which is concentrated where solar and storage conversion plant share a site; (4) the extent of separation and compartmentalisation between battery enclosures; (5) detection and suppression response at unmanned rural sites with extended emergency service travel times.

Lessons learned

1. Lithium-ion battery container fires can spread between enclosures, so operators should verify separation distances and compartment barriers during design reviews.
2. Smoke from burning battery materials requires advance shelter advice for nearby residents at rural sites.
3. Unmanned hybrid sites need remote monitoring that identifies involved enclosures before crews arrive.

More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, emergency response and public communication, detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Battery model and age
• Cost of damage and downtime
• Confirmed cause of the fire

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

cotswoldjournal.co.uk