Solar developer Freewatt has secured planning permission for a 10MW solar farm at Stow, Lincolnshire.
The Stow-based company will extend an existing 1.1MW solar farm behind its headquarters, creating an 18-hectare solar farm which will boast 41,000 modules.
The planning application did not receive a single objection. The solar farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power 3,300 average homes a year or, around 10% of all homes in the West Lindsey district.
As part of the plans submitted to the council, Freewatt has committed to introducing an extensive range of biodiversity measures. These include, planting the majority of the site with a meadow mixture with a range of grass herb and wildflower species. The developers will also graze a flock of rare breed sheep across the solar farm.
Freewatt will also create two special areas of wildflower meadow, covering two acres of the site. The wildflower meadow will boast a range of species which have been designed to encourage and support populations of butterflies, bees and birds.
In addition, four habitat piles will be placed around the site to encourage invertebrate and reptile species with a number of bird and bat boxes also installed.
Commenting on the solar farm extension, Freewatt chief executive Julian Patrick said: “This is a really exciting project for Freewatt Solar PV and will really catapult the company to new heights and set new standards for how solar farms should be built.
“Officers at the council have been incredibly helpful throughout the process and we have worked really hard to find the right site and create, not just a new solar farm, but a new and sustainable ecosystem for wildlife adding both environmental and financial value. We are very proud of the innovative project we are about to embark on. It will have positive effects on the environment, our business and the local economy.”
The solar farm will have a lifetime of 25 years, after which the land will be restored to its original condition.