Council wants solar farm work to start next year
Work could begin on a large-scale solar farm next year and will be the first of many across the county, Shropshire Council has said.
The former landfill site on Maesbury Road Industrial Estate, Oswestry, has been earmarked for the scheme, which will generate enough energy to power 1,200 homes a year.
The exact number of solar panels included has not yet been revealed, but it will cover four hectares of the 11-hectare site.
It is one of two major projects set out in the council’s new climate action plan, published as part of its first climate change strategy which details how the authority will cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030.
The other is a possible hydrogen fuel manufacturing operation at Battlefield Energy Recovery Facility in Shrewsbury.
A feasibility study on the solar farm is expected to be completed early in the new year, after which a planning application will be submitted.
Councillor Dean Carroll, portfolio holder for climate change, said: “Maesbury Road is a site within the council’s ownership that has quite a long and chequered history. That restricts its use today because of potential land contamination issues.
“The approach we are taking with that and an increasing number of sites is to not to look at the problems but to look at the opportunities.
“We are taking what was historically a problem location and we are seeing the opportunity in it which is large scale renewable power generation.”
The council has put solar panels on a number of its buildings including the Shirehall, but this will be its first solar farm.
The action plan estimates the income from the solar farm will mean within its 25 year lifespan it will pay for itself and yield a £3.1 million profit. By 2030 it will have prevented 5,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02E) from entering the atmosphere.
Councillor Carroll said: “Firstly the value in it is in the energy production itself, and the revenue and savings that brings to the council.
“Secondly there is the good use of what has otherwise been a problematic site.
“The third benefit is that we are working with some pretty leading industry experts to help us get this absolutely right.
“That is then a template for us to do it on five, 10 or maybe more sites, because I firmly believe that this will be an extremely successful project.”
Adrian Cooper, who is leading the council’s climate change task force, said a barrier to many solar farm schemes is the expense of getting connected to the National Grid, but the location of the Maesbury Road site means this may not be necessary.
Mr Cooper said: “The big benefit of these sites particularly in an urban location, or where you have got other big power users nearby, is that you can kill two birds with one stone – possibly three – because you can link your solar generator directly to a power user and have an agreement with them that they buy the power.
“They are likely to save some money, and it gives those companies some certainty about the availability of power.”
Mr Cooper said the county’s community-led Climate Action Partnership was working on an energy mapping project to identify significant energy users, for example hospitals, and see where there may be opportunities to link them to local renewable energy schemes.
The Oswestry site is an 11-hectare “waste mountain” with a flat top of around four hectares, where the panels will be installed. The sloped sides are covered with trees and the top is currently used for grazing, which will continue.
The action plan and climate strategy will be discussed by Shropshire Council’s cabinet at a meeting on Monday.
