Although at an early stage, Green Energy UK Direct who are based in Manchester are considering, in association with Scatec Solar that is a firm of solar energy providers from Norway, building what sounds like it would be a huge solar farm not too many miles to the north of Bath. The solar farm would be located between West Littleton and Tormarton and could cover an area of anything up to 180 acres.
There would appear to be no definite plans at the moment although an initial exhibition has already taken place in the last few days for local residents and a parish council was given a presentation. Potentially, the solar photovoltaic panels that would be sited there may be capable of providing sufficient electricity for as many as 8,000 homes. It was not many months ago that the government produced guidelines in respect of seeking the opinion of local residents.
As the project is still in the very early stages it was not known the amount of land that would be used or the number of solar panels. If the whole 180 acres were used to site solar panels it could make it the largest solar farm in the UK.
Apparently, there is already concern at the potential size of the solar farm and that it was within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is expected that a planning application will be submitted in the New Year. It would appear that a significant amount of the electricity generated would be fed into the national grid.
Obviously, should approval be obtained and depending upon the size of the solar farm, this scheme could make a significant contribution towards helping the country achieve its renewable energy target by 2020 and reduce carbon emissions.
We will endeavour to keep you updated should there be any developments.
