RES, a British renewables developer, has submitted a planning application for its 25MW Varley Solar Farm, located southeast of Cromhall, in South Gloucestershire. Initial plans for the project, which will be determined by South Gloucestershire Council’s planning committee, were presented at a public exhibition held last July to enable people to find out more about the proposal and provide RES with their views. All feedback received during the consultation has been considered by the project team alongside information gathered from a number of detailed technical and environmental surveys in order to ‘inform the final design.’
A number of changes have been made to the design to ensure the solar farm ‘fits sensitively into the existing landscape, while maximising the low-carbon low-cost electricity generation’. Changes made include siting infrastructure further away from residential properties and increasing the hedgerow height in certain areas to reduce potential visibility. RES also reviewed all potential access routes and has proposed a solution to minimise any potential impact on the local road network from HGV delivery traffic.
Bertrand Devossel, RES’s development project manager, said: “This particular site has been chosen as it has: good solar irradiation levels; lies outside of any statutory environmental, archaeological and landscape designations; and is close to a viable grid connection.
“We hope that South Gloucestershire will agree that Varley Solar Farm is in an optimum position to help tackle climate change and is a crucial step forward if the country is to meet the UK’s ‘net zero’ targets.”
If consented, Varley Solar Farm would be capable of producing clean, green electricity for about 9,700 homes.