Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are now pivotal assets in Scotland’s strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions and ensure energy security amidst a shift to renewables-led power generation. Although Scotland’s current installed BESS capacity is modest, momentum is growing rapidly, with a large volume of projects under planning or construction or in the pipeline. This transformation is occurring in a context where BESS facilities are almost exclusively sited near renewable generation hubs or areas of high grid demand, reinforcing their significance in enabling the flexible and reliable integration of intermittent wind and solar power. This review into understanding the potential environmental impacts of operating BESS in Scotland exclusively focuses on the operational phase for which a distinctive cluster of environmental and safety risks is presented. Chief among these are fire and explosion hazards, which, although rare and especially rare in Scotland, remain the greatest concern due to the potential release of toxic gases (such as hydrofluoric acid), air pollution, and environmental contamination from fire-fighting run-off. Acute and chronic chemical release, even in the absence of fire, is another key consideration, particularly given the hazardous contents of lithium-ion and other advanced batteries. Water contamination from firefighting or stormwater run-off, noise emissions from thermal management units, and the visual and land use impacts associated with larger BESS installations also merit careful attention, although recent evidence demonstrates that noise and visual effects are usually kept comfortably within regulatory limits through effective design and mitigation. Scotland currently benefits from a relatively robust, if complex and sometimes non-statutory, regulatory and planning guidance landscape that applies to BESS developments. This structure, while effective, does contain gaps (especially regarding system interactions, guidance harmonization, and adaptation to evolving technology) which highlights areas for further policy development and research. Comparisons with international practice, notably in Asia and the USA, reveal that a lack of unified standards can result in higher risks and costly incidents, as seen in several high-profile battery fires abroad. Recent scholarship advocates for more nuanced, systems-based approaches to risk assessment, such as combining event tree and systems theoretic analyses, rather than relying solely on traditional, component-based methodologies.