Planning permission has been submitted to the Isle of Wight Council to create a large solar power farm, known as Barnfield, off Wilmingham Lane near Thorley.
As previously reported by Island Echo, plans were first touted back in August, when British-owned investment and asset management company, Low Carbon, announced that they would like to build a 39-hectare solar farm that will create enough clean energy to power almost 10,000 homes each year
At that time it was announced that if were plans to be approved, the site would be located on land east of Wilmingham Lane and south of the village of Thorley, near Wellow. Once developed, the on-site energy farm will help assist in delivering low-cost, safe, and affordable electricity.
It’s said that Barnfield will provide a unique and innovative space for sheep to graze amongst the solar panels which provide protection in both summer and winter. There will also be additional planting of native species.
The farm would include the following equipment; rows of solar PV panels, 11 inverters and transformers, around 4.7km of cable connection linking the site to the substation in Shalfleet, Internal access tracks, a perimeter fence and gate and CCTV cameras. In the plans, it is hoped that construction would take 18 weeks.
The site is composed of predominantly greenfield land, as well as being situated within a zone that poses the least risk of flooding and is not within 600m of the nearest Grade II listed building, meaning objections on these grounds are to be unlikely.
After the lifespan of the panels and all other associated equipment has ended, the site will be decommissioned and returned back to its former use. This would be around 40 years after its construction.
Plans for solar power sites have been put forward to the planning committee at the location in the past – albeit for smaller in-scale operations.
Those viewing the application should do so quoting 22/01793/FUL. Comments should be made by 25th January 2023.
Maybe the island council could pay for this out of the REFUND from FIASCO FLOATING BRIDGE????
Makes sense that we could make a profit instead of somebody else,
OR have the brown envelopes already done their work??????
The FB money paid for the 19 people that had to be rehomed temporarily on the mainland at a cost of £1.9Mil
The numbers don’t add up. 30Mwatts of energy will only be enough to supply 2000 homes ( assuming each home uses 15kW/day.)But it doesn’t work like that.10,000 homes? that doesn’t work either. What does work is the contribution it will make to the UKs green energy. But it is only a small contribution. One wind turbine can generate 10Gigawatts, some 330 times more than this wind farm. The owners will make a nice return on their investment.
While this commennt in not entirely true it it reasonably accurate. I agree with Martin. Wind turbines are considerably better and less space than solar. On hill tops prefered. Back of wight coastal areas would be perfect. Or maybe the NIMBY,s would prefer a coal fired powerstaion as long as its elsewhere.
An absolute classic example of NIMBYism appeared on the County Press site the other day. A picture of a bungalow sporting a WAGE (Wootton Against Grave Extraction) poster with 5 large bags of aggregate outside. Clearly this person is happy for gravel to be extracted from somewhere, as long as it isn’t near him.
Ditto the anti turbine “ThWart” lot (The Wight Against Rural Turbines). Happy to use electricity from coal, gas, nuclear wind or solar affecting someone’s view as long as it isn’t theirs.
Also note how they think they speak for everyone. Wootton Against or The Wight Against when, in reality, they are just a small (extremely) vocal minority.
It reads 10,000 homes…. maybe you need specsavers…
don’t need solar need 1000 + homes
What, withcandles and gas lights
Excellent news. The more options available on this Island the better. I’m no tree hugging hippy by any means but the sooner alternative power options are applied for our local use rather than that supplied from the likes of Russian and French suppliers the better.
Yet we allow in daily hundreds of newcomers all will end up in a home, using power, making more and more energy usage from whatever means harder to find room and money for.
SEE the real problem with ‘being nice’.
It comes at great cost to future generations as well as our own.
Being nice or taken for idiots?
Planning get your “Yes Please “ rubber stamp out, consultation !! Means nothing .. waste of time .. this will be the 4th solar farm in a small radius .. absolute joke. Bob where are you ?
Bob is getting a tan sitting uder his tanning lamp, powered by solar…
We have solar power and it really is beneficial, washing machine tumble dryer hoover etc , .. .you
May say initial cost but we say monthly outgoings…
Only a few months but our costs have gone down dramatically.
And at least it is productive, unlike rabbit hutches , 0h and when you sell back to the grid profit! …
Today while hoovering washing baking etc my cost per hr 0-00 ….
Maybe could build more around the Island, and especially over flood areas, keeping them a few feet off the ground so the ground could still be used for whatever… food, grazing… !and link them all together to give ALL Island homes electric….add on some other forms of electric power, and the island could be self sufficient..!!
We really are just treated as lambs to the slaughter.
There won’t be a single home on the island benefit directly from the solar farm.
The only ones that really benefit are the landowners, the council and the energy company.
The energy companies make the majority of their cash from the ‘green levy’ on taxpayers’ bills with the total subsidy provided to solar electricity generators last year was about £1.2bn.
Do you really think an energy company will pass on any cheap tariffs to the consumer. It will be sold at the highest rate to the highest bidder and if that means exporting it from the IoW to some foreign shore, they would not hesitate.
How exactly is covering good farmland with solar panels going to cut carbon emmissions? All the food that that land would grow will have to be imported in ships belching CO2. No doubt our ignorant council will jump at the opportunity to further their pie in the sky net zero project. Oh well, the CO2 is not being produced in the UK
That sounds great – let’s hook up 10,000 houses here belonging to all the eco loons and public sector bureaucrats who demand this renewable stuff and let them get the apparently cheap energy from this ‘solar farm’ when it produces it. After all they should really be first in line to benefit from the fruits of their labour – of course it will mean no power when the sun doesn’t shine (and no battery array can hold enough power to sustain requirements for 12-14 hrs a day and then be recharged in time for the next days 12-14hr requirement, oh and they would have had no power over the last 2 weeks cold spell – but that’s a reality I am sure they’d all be delighted to live with in order to keep their climate fraud narrative alive