2,500 panel solar farm proposed near Oswestry's Old Racecourse
More than 2,500 solar panels and a wind turbine could be built near a Shropshire beauty spot.
Developers have lodged a planning application for a major 'renewable energy park' on land near Oswestry's Old Racecourse.
Plans for the proposed Cefn y Maes Community Renewable Energy Park, which is expected to generate about 2.5 million kwh of electricity per year, are situated near the local beauty spot at Rhydycroesau.
The developers behind the scheme, renewables firm Engena Limited, have submitted plans for one wind turbine, 2,588 solar panels assembled in rows of four panels deep, two containers for energy storage equipment, a substation and ancillary infrastructure, to Shropshire Council.
The energy park, covering 1.70 hectares of farmland, would provide electricity for more than 550 homes.
Councillor Robert Milton, chairman of Oswestry Rural Parish Council, said residents have already voiced their concerns about a number of issues including the impact it will have on the landscape as it is sited on the top of unspoilt hillside, and access for the large vehicles that will travel up the hill to the site.
Engena Limited says the proposed operational lifetime of the project is 30 years, following which the wind turbine, solar array and energy storage facility would be decommissioned unless a fresh planning permission was granted for its retention.
The planned single wind farm on the site will have a maximum height to tip of 101 metres, while each solar panel will measure 1.65 metre long by 0.992m wide.
The firm's design and access statement says: "Modern commercial wind turbines commonly vary between 70m to 150m to tip in the UK, and the general market movement in recent years has been to develop turbines with increased heights and rotor diameters as this offers the potential to maximise energy yields.
"A single wind turbine limited to a maximum height to tip of 101m was chosen for this site as a balance between maximising the generational potential of the site, as wind speed increases with height, and the potential landscape and visual impacts."
As part of the application submitted with the local authority, Engena has also requested permission for the installation of a temporary access track and an upgrading of the existing farm entrance, for the purpose of delivery and construction of the proposed energy park.
Mayor of Oswestry Paul Milner, who also sits on Oswestry Rural Parish Council, has called for a "full and thorough" consultation process for residents. He said: "This application will obviously concern local residents, particularly because of the impact it will have on the countryside. What's proposed will change the views that residents enjoy so much, that's why it's vital residents get properly consulted on the plans."
