The Isle of Wight’s largest solar farm has been approved to provide energy for future generations.
Last night (Tuesday), the green light was given to the Barnfield Solar Farm on the outskirts of Yarmouth, which would be able to generate enough green energy to power around 9,300 homes a year.
The plans had been met with concerns from nearby residents at the meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee, about negatively impacting the landscape at Wilmingham Lane, by putting solar panels on a greenfield site and a lack of community benefit, apart from the energy.
Cllr Matt Price said the solar farm was a necessary evil, and that when the committee turns down green energy-producing facilities, they were putting energy at risk for younger generations.
He said: “The future is not in fossil fuels, is it in renewables. If you ask the younger generation what we should be doing, it is not turning down solar farms.”
Cllr Geoff Brodie said there would be community benefit in the longer term, moving away from fossil fuel dependency with a self-sufficient energy supply which would be reflected in bills in years to come.
There are six other solar farms in the surrounding West Wight area, all of which have the capacity combined to produce 25MW a year, but the Barnfield project would be able to produce 28MW alone.
A representative of Low Carbon UK said the site could be up and running in the next two years, and operational for the next 40 years.
He answered concerns about the electrical grid capability on the Island, saying the company would not bring forward the site if the capability was not there.
He said the Island needed the solar farm if it was to meet its net zero goal by 2040 and that it would help deliver ten per cent of the council’s target towards self-sufficiency and renewable energy generation.
The application was unanimously supported by the committee and the permission will be subject to 21 conditions.
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