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Protestors fighting the plans have stepped up their campaign after Harmony Energy submitted an amended planning application to Wakefield Council.

The company has upped the number of containers it wants to put on farmland at Heath Common from 60 to 72.

More than 900 people have objected to the proposals, including councillors and MPs.

Residents have started a campaign to stop an energy storage facility being built on farmland close to Heath village, in Wakefield

The “I Love Heath Common” protest group was set up in opposition to the scheme.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has also raised concerns over public safety.

A spokesperson for the campaign group said: “Harmony Energy is showing a blatant disregard for local feeling.

“Harmony Energy says it has listened to the views of local people – yet more than 1,200 local people have said quite clearly they do not want this battery energy storage plant anywhere near their homes or this historic heritage landscape.”

Julie Medford, Labour councillor for Normanton, looking out across fields at Heath Common which could be the site of an energy storage farm

Battery storage facilities take in power from renewable energy sources and then release it back onto the National Grid when demand is high.

Earlier this year, the fire authority warned of the potential public dangers including contamination of the local water supply, risks of vapour cloud, thermal runway and explosion.

The authority also said 5.5 million litres of water could be needed if a fire broke out at the site.

The campaign group added: “We urge Harmony Energy to withdraw this plan and find an alternative, more suitable, site away from this historic heritage landscape that is metres from many people’s homes.

“There is nothing renewable about a battery storage facility.

“It is a standalone industrial development.

“Its sole purpose is as a business opportunity, and it is certainly not a source of renewable energy.”

A planning statement submitted on behalf of Harmony says: “The layout and the design of the scheme has been amended to address specific concerns raised by the local planning authority and local residents, and to ensure that the scheme meets the latest fire safety standards.”

The statement adds that the scheme would make a “valuable contribution to the overwhelming need for the UK to meet its carbon reduction targets”.

Last week, Leeds City Council rejected Harmony’s plans for a battery plant on greenbelt land near Allerton Bywater.

Heath Common energy farm: Protestors step up campaign over plan to increase number of battery units