Plans have been submitted for a solar farm near Nantwich which could supply energy to more than 6,500 homes a year, writes Belinda Ryan.
The application is for a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic renewable energy scheme on a 17-hectare site near Hatherton Lodge Farm, off Hunsterson Road.
A planning statement submitted by the Pegasus Group on behalf of Noventum Power, states: “The proposal will provide a clean, renewable and sustainable form of electricity generation and will also make a valuable contribution to the generation of electricity at a local level whilst delivering significant biodiversity enhancements across the site.
“The development would also add to regional progress in respect of meeting renewable energy targets and would also assist in meeting national targets for both energy supply, low carbon energy development and the national imperative to transition toward net zero.”
This is the second time permission has been sought for a solar farm on this site.
In 2015, Cheshire East refused permission from a different applicant for the installation of a solar farm with an output of approximately 8.28MW.
That decision was overturned the following year after the applicant appealed.
But, despite planning permission being in place, the solar farm was never implemented and the permission lapsed in February 2019.
The planning document says this latest application is for essentially the same development.
A design and access statement, submitted with a application, says: “The solar farm would generate approximately 12MW of clean renewable energy displacing 5,160 tonnes of CO2 and supplying over 6,500 homes per annum.
“This will assist with the UK’s target of being carbon neutral by 2050 and Cheshire East Council to become a carbon neutral borough by 2045.”
The solar farm would be operational for up to 40 years and after that it would be decommissioned.
The application, number 24/5074, can be viewed on the planning portal on Cheshire East Council website.
(Pic by Google Maps)
Concur with Jem. Even got Government officials constantly flying around the world, contributing to global warming
I want clean energy, and if Nantwich can do it but then fabulous. (… Hopefully some of that clean energy can come Nantwich’s way too)
That being said, the notion of net zero is a myth, we send out dirty jobs to other countries and reimport it. (It looks better on ‘the books’ for us)
… Until every country can attain somewhere near net zero then it’s silly to think it’s going to make a difference. (Example steel, we import the majority of our steel from other countries that are not hell bent on attaining net zero, in favour of having a job market)
It would be far more productive, if we could devise cleaner options instead of importing.
So the two are separate issues.
Bill. I thought I’d made my point fairly succinctly. and honestly , “Come on, with that mentality….” is pretty patronising, Though the current government is trying very hard to change it, for now, I’m allowed an opinion.
Do you think China is levied for the dozens of coal-fired stations it’s building? Does India have a clean air act for million upon millions of open fires? Are NASA, SpaceEx and Blue Horizon paying subsidies? Are smart meters rammed down the throats of people in the Middle East? How about the millions of fires caused by the various conflicts around the world? Do the oilfield operators have an emissions target?
You may want to allow no other opinions but yours, but thankfully, that’s not how the world works.
I maintain my point: *nothing* we do will save the planet, and global warming is just that…global.
If we’re the only ones playing to the rules, suffering and paying through the nose for that privilege while others just scoff at our efforts, that can’t be right…can it?
More productive farmland going to renewable energy. What happens with the reduction in that. More imports and the associated greenhouse gasses for transportation.
Well said Jem,I totally agree we all need to do our bit but as a country we do seem to saddle ourselves with a far to heavy burden to achieve a drop in the ocean.
Come on with that mentality nothing would ever get done. What is the point of your comment on this ? A farmer with a field is looking to diversify into something more profitable…. and you have concerns with this ?
Most bigger countries are working towards environmental reductions in some way it will just take time, even we have back tracked once the harsh reality of targets set in.
There is a lot of money/profit to be made shifting to renewables as many companies are finding.
The UK is less than one percent of the world’s population, land mass and climate impact, yet we continue to saddle ourselves with huge costs, inconvenience and government control to worship at the altar of nett zero. Meanwhile, half the world blasts out greenhouse gases like there’s no tomorrow, and their coal-fired power is unabated.
We could become not only carbon neutral, but totally carbon-free tomorrow and it would barely dent the global climate impact.
Don’t misunderstand me; I accept and support climate initiatives but we shouldn’t penalise ourselves or delude ourselves that anything we can do will “save the planet” while China, India, America and endless other countries don’t give a damn.