A large solar farm in Wootton has been given the go-ahead to produce energy for thousands of homes, despite concerns over the impact it could have on neighbouring ancient woodland.
The Sunny Oaks Renewable Energy Park can now be built on the outskirts of Wootton — subject to 16 conditions — after the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the plans.
The park, which will see solar panels installed across 27 hectares of land, could support more than 5,100 homes a year, generating around 20MW of renewable electricity. The park is be built on farmland owned by Briddlesford Lodge Farm, up the road from Butterfly World.
Concerns were raised at the meeting about the impact of the solar farm on the neighbouring ancient wood, Fattingpark Copse, which was called rare, irreplaceable and vulnerable by its owner.
Councillors questioned whether the proposed buffer strip between the solar panels and the ancient woodland, 15m, was enough to protect the trees.
Planning officers said the council’s tree and ecology officers had not complained about the buffer strip nor any harm the solar park would cause on the ancient woodland. A biodiversity mitigation enhancement plan would take into account environmental concerns councillors had, officers said, and look to address them.
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans said the enhancement plan needed to be unique, to address the specific concerns, species and designations of Fattingpark Copse, and not a copy-and-paste version from somewhere else.
Councillors also felt a right of way along Briddlesford Road and Whiterails Road could have been included in the plans and were disappointed it was not as it would have taken cyclists and pedestrians off the main road.
Officers said it had been discussed but would have had serious operational and security risks to Briddlesford Farm as it would restrict herd movement, so the landowners were against it.
Energy will be supplied to the local network via Wootton Common substation and a battery energy storage system will also be built to hold some of the excess electricity generated.
The solar park is going to be operational for 40 years and animals will be able to graze under and around the panels between the months of July and October.
The Sunny Oaks park will be the 2nd-biggest solar farm on the Island after Barnfield Solar Farm in the West Wight, which was approved at the same Isle of Wight Council meeting.
Why is there a NIMBY article, but not YIMBY article praising the project as a small step in the right direction?
Climate change is made up by the lefties. We don’t need green energy
Back under your bridge troll
Because it is a step in the wrong direction. It is a step in the direction of net zero lunacy.
Whilst I don’t have anything against these solar farms, it would be so much better if those living nearby actually benefitted from this? Given that particular suppliers will target ‘customers’ with the stuff about the energy coming from reusable sources etc..ad nauseam, they can’t explain why ‘their’ electric is better than the bloke next door as it all comes along the same cable in any case?
Some transparency is needed and not that prawn on the adverts purporting to be Einstein. Smart? More like Exchange and Mart
“Could” support morethan 5,100 homes, and a battery energy storage system will store “some” of the excess electricity generated. Slightly ambiguous perhaps. What happens if it doesn’t perform as stated?
I think the council need to look again at the 2 huge solar farms recently granted planning permission. The UK has only one tiny Solar panel recycling plant which is currently stockpiling panels , and at the end of their lives most go into landfill, a recent Derby University study estimates there are currently half a million tons of panels in the UK, a mountain of landfill. The number of panels being fitted is increasing rapidly as will the waste tonnage in the future. There are 50 million tons worldwide to be disposed of in future, and growing daily. Another fact is that the newer panels are even harder to recycle than the early ones as the component parts are more strongly bonded together.This is a serious problem.
We should just burn them like we burn or bury them like we do everything else. Recycling is a myth!
Well at least the land they occupy wont be given over to incomers who may cause car accidents on Beaper Shute, needlessly use health services, batter their spouse, or spawn a new generation of benefit reliant, drug addled societal parasites.
The planning office routinely ignore residents in their decisions. In fact ignoring residents is the default position. An appeal by residents has no more value than a victim statement in a court of law. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the outcome of the deliberations.
All elements in the panel are reusable in some way but they need to be dismantled and seperated into their component parts which needs a well organised plant to make this efficient. Currently we only seem to have one ” small ” plant in the UK !. Given the rapid, and very sensible, expansion of solar panel delivery it looks as tho’ an expansion of recycling facilities is becomimg an urgent matter. Maybe we should consider levying a cost on each panel for it’s future disposal which might just encourage the expansion of recycling centres. As always it comes down to money / profit. Otherwise it’s a no brainer isn’t it ?.
So, we have no way of disposing of the damaging components, but not to worry, it will all be sorted by the time they become redundant (which may well be far shorter than the proposed lifespan when the energy companies bale out when they start to lose government subsidies)
Then there is the fact that “Contrary to earlier assumptions,” the Stuttgart Institute study said, “the result shows that pollutants such as lead or carcinogenic cadmium can be almost completely washed out of the fragments of solar modules over a period of several months, for example by rainwater.” When solar panels are damaged by weather, mishandling, or improper disposal.
A real “no brainer” isn’t it…..
Solar energy is amazing, i wish
i had of got it years ago ! …
Especially as the cost of electricity has gone up ….
Even in winter it generates power …
Win win ….
I presume they won’t be powering houses on the island it will go to the grid and they will make a payment to the Solar owners
They’ll object to stuff like this as the rising seas take their homes as we all fry and freeze.