Solar farm 'bigger than Vatican City' planned

It's claimed it would power around 10,000 homes in Mid Devon.

Plans for a massive solar farm in Mid Devon that would be bigger than the Vatican City have been lodged.

The Langford Solar Farm Application Site would occupy approximately 61 hectares of agricultural land to the east and north-east of the village of Langford.

The £40m development would have an export capacity of 49.9MW, would mean a reduction of approximately 20,317t of CO2 emissions annually, and would be able to meet the energy needs of approximately 10,077 homes in the Mid Devon.

Under the plans submitted by the Pegasus Group on behalf of JBM Solar Projects 2 Ltd, the solar farm would be operational for 40 years before being returned to its current agricultural use.

A statement with the planning application states the proposals are appropriate in terms of design and access and the development represents a necessary step towards meeting the UK’s legally binding climate change and renewable energy obligations.

It adds: “The solar farm will have an export capacity of 49.9MW and a solar farm of this size will therefore generate a significant amount of electricity from renewable sources and mean a reduction of approximately 20,317t of CO2 emissions annually. This represents a significant contribution to the legally binding national and international requirement and associated targets to increase renewable energy generation and reduce CO2 emissions.

“For context, the solar farm can meet the energy needs of approximately 10,077 homes in the Mid Devon District. The generation of this level of renewable energy therefore represents a substantial benefit which would be experienced if planning permission were to be granted.

“This scheme also represents a significant financial investment of approximately £40m and the development will also support between 70 and 80 direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase and contribute up to £2.7m gross valued added to the economy. The proposed development once operational will contribute potentially circa £190,000 in business rates each year.”

The application says that while the proposed solar farm will involve the temporary change of use of the land, agricultural use will be retained in the long term and the site will also be capable of dual use farming during its operational period, with small livestock able to graze the land between and amongst the panels.

It says that the inclusion of battery storage within the development will increase the effectiveness of the proposed development, balancing the release of electricity produced from a renewable source into the grid, and that all of the plant buildings, with the exception of the sub-station gantry, will be at or below single storey level to ensure that they will not be readily visible from most viewpoints outside of the site.

A 2m high security deer fence will be installed around the edge of the site while badger friendly access points will be installed at various locations along any fencing to allow the passage of animals across the site.

Access to the site, for construction will be into the north-west of the site from Tye Farm and it is anticipated that an average of six deliveries would be made per day during the six-month construction period.

The statement concludes: “The significant benefits associated with this proposal, primarily through the generation of renewable energy to provide enough low carbon electricity to power 10,077 homes every year provides a valuable contribution towards meeting the challenging obligations of the Government regarding renewable energy generation, and also in the form of economic investment and ecological and landscape enhancements, are factors which weigh heavily in favour of this development.”

Mid Devon District Council planners will determine the fate of the application at a later date.