Shropshire Star

Telford solar farm plans given green light

A 30-acre site in Telford will become only the second council-run solar farm in the UK after planning chiefs gave proposals the green light.

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The field near to the Jigsaw School, in Wheat Leasows, Hadley, will have 16,400 solar panels planted on it at a cost of £6 million.

It is expected to harvest a profit of £5 million over its 25 years.

The idea was hailed as leading the way in renewable energy for economic generation by members of Telford & Wrekin Council's planning committee which granted full permission last night.

The panels, standing up to nine feet from the ground, will produce four megawatts of power – enough to serve 800 homes.

Although the agricultural land would be lost, sheep could still be grazed there and the panels could be reversed after the 20 to 25 year life of the project, or renewed for a longer time.

Councillor Shirley Reynolds told the meeting: "We would be hard pushed not to support this. It's an absolutely excellent application giving households control over energy bills.

"This is a thoughtful application and the fact that we haven't had a lot of local objections shows they feel they have been considered.

"You drive along the A442 and you won't even be able to see the site.

"We are actually leading the way on trying to do something about renewable energy. "We are actually trying to be proactive and look for economic generation."

Councillor Gilly Reynolds said the scheme would make the cost equivalent of 40 care packages for elderly people per year.

Councillor Nigel Dugmore who considers himself one of the greenest on the committee as he owns a hybrid car said: "I am fully behind all these types of things. The concerns I have are that this is only the second local authority solar farm which begs the question why haven't any other authorities done it?

He said he thought the land would have been better used if houses had been built with solar panels in the roof.

Councillor Dugmore said solar panels had to be replaced after 15 years and questioned how much that would cost.

But Councillor Ian Fletcher, who has had solar panels on his roof for the past two years, said: "They don't need to be replaced after 15 years – they work to their maximum efficiency for the first 15 years and then that tails off."

Another solar plant received permission last year for a 54-acre site at Hayford Farm, near Westbury, nine miles from Shrewsbury.

And Wilfred Maddocks dairy farm in Newport was home to Shropshire's largest solar power system when its 100kw panels were installed two years ago.

Telford wants to follow the example of the first council-run site next to Newquay Cornwall airport, which went live in November.

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