20,000-panel solar farm in Shropshire hit by new doubt

Developers behind the proposals at Rhosygadfa, near Gobowen, want permission to set up a 20-metre telecoms mast to provide an internet connection at the site – and have warned they will lose a Government subsidy for the project unless they press ahead in the next few weeks.

Officials at Elgin Energy said the mast was needed to transfer data from the solar farm to an electricity substation at nearby Ifton. But they added if work on the site does not begin by March 31 then the loss of funding would make the project unviable.

They said the site does not currently have a suitable internet connection.

A high quality internet connection is required at the site to allow real time data to be transferred to the substation so that network operators SP Energy Networks can shut down the solar farm in the event of a fault, according to Elgin Energy.

The plans for the solar farm were approved in December 2015, but only after initial proposals by the Bristol-based firm for a larger 40,000-panel farm were thrown out by Shropshire Council.

At the time the project, which was intended to take up a 52-acre site, was met with huge opposition from residents. They claimed it was an "industrial type development" that would be visible for miles around, blighting the countryside.

Elgin Energy subsequently scaled down its plans to take up 33 acres and half the amount of solar panels.

The proposed solar farm would be spread across three fields and would be able to power up to 1,500 homes, according to the developers.

In a report to Shropshire Council, Nick Berry of consultants Berrys, on behalf of Elgin, said that BT could not install a fibre connection before April.

He added that Scottish Power would not accept a satellite broadband option because it was not reliable enough.

"The solar farm must be commissioned prior to March 31 2017 as after this date a notable fall in the Renewable Obligation Certificates will render the project unviable," he said.

"It is expected that BT will provide a fibre broadband connection at the site in the next six to 18 months and as such this application seeks a temporary permission only for a period of three years, to allow for any unexpected delays in the fibre connection."

Later this month officials will visit Gobowen to hold an open meeting about the solar farm project.

Amy Gregory, clerk of Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council, said that all members of the public and interested parties were welcome to attend the meeting, which will be held in the Gobowen Pavilion in St Martins Road, Gobowen, at 7pm on January 17.

"The meeting will provide an opportunity for people to ask the company responsible for managing the project questions and find out more information," she said.