New plans for a solar farm and battery plant in the North Yorkshire countryside have attracted criticism from residents over the use of agricultural land.
A planning application for a 49.9MW solar scheme and a 10MW battery energy storage system (BESS) has been filed with North Yorkshire Council for fields off Brownmoor Lane, south west of Sutton-on-the-Forest, near Easingwold.
The plans have been drawn up by green energy developer Ampyr Solar Europe, which says the 95-hectare scheme would power 24,400 homes and save 21,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The application includes solar panels and BESS, together with transformers, inverters, cabling, a substation and potentially a new electricity pylon. Access would be from the A19 and then along existing private tracks, although new internal tracks would be created.
The applicants have also proposed landscape mitigation measures and areas set aside to deliver biodiversity net gain.
The solar arrays would be laid out horizontally running east-west and would be mounted on metal frames facing north-south to maximise the absorption of sunlight.
The transformers would be located in the centre of the solar panels in each area of the solar farm, while the proposed BESS and substation would be built on the south of the eastern section of the site. The applicant says these are likely to emit the most noise and have been positioned as far away from nearby houses as possible.
The land used for the solar farm would not be the best quality agricultural land, the applicant claims.
If granted, the application for the solar farm would be in place for 50 years.
Supporting documents for the application say the proposed development would cause some adverse landscape and visual effects, and would cause ‘less than substantial harm’ to the setting of a nearby Grade II-listed farmhouse.
But the report concludes: “This harm needs to be weighed against the public benefits of the proposed development, particularly the critical and urgent need for the provision of renewable energy and the need to tackle climate change, which has substantial weight.”
Several local residents have submitted objections to the application, which was filed last month.
One Sutton-on-the-Forest resident said: “This application is for monetary gain only, nothing to do with saving the planet or adding to biodiversity.
“The land is good arable land, not the downgraded fields, the applicant suggests.
“It’s land rich in corn buntings, yellowhammers and yellow wagtails, all under significant threat. What use are additional hedges or grass to these birds? They need arable crops.”
Another resident added: “The majority of this land is capable of supporting grassland and cereal crops and no doubt has done since it became farmland.
“Losing it for 50 years seems such a shame as food production in this country may become valued again within this time frame, potentially making the return from letting land for solar generation less financially attractive.”
The council is aiming to make a decision on the application by October.