Great Glemham Farms has partnered with renewable installer, AGReneewables, to propose the development of a 15MW solar park near the Suffolk village of Great Glemham.
The proposed scheme will see 75 acres of the old Parham Airfield covered in enough solar modules to provide clean electricity for over 4,500 homes, saving around 6,508 tonnes of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere every year.
The development has been designed to completely minimise the environmental impact on the local area. As such, additional planting will be put in place around the site to encourage local flora and fauna. The farm will also benefit from use of the produced electricity as well as grazing sheep on the site.
The developers are keen to engage with the local community ahead of submitting any formal proposals to the Council. AGRenewables will be holding a public exhibition in the coming weeks for locals to attend and find out more about the scheme. The exhibition will include detailed visualisations of the proposed park so that the local community will be able to gauge the impact of the proposals.
Argus Hardy of Great Glemham Farms told the East Anglia Daily Times that: “All of the feedback we receive will be considered before we finalise our proposals and submit a planning application later this summer.
“Great Glemham Farms has a long history of focusing on environmental projects and I see the solar farm as furthering the work we do to encourage sustainable ways of working and biodiversity in the local area.”
Mr Hardy concluded: “We have looked at the solar farm proposal as an opportunity not only to engage with a locally important renewables scheme, but also to create a large area of grazed clay grassland between the panels, with a buffer strip of hedge and scrub that ties in with our existing nature conservation projects, particularly our work with nesting and feeding opportunities for bird life.”
The solar developers are also discussing plans to help the community gain some benefit from the energy generated at the site, including an annual contribution to a local community benefit fund, such as supporting local micro-renewable generation.
