DEVON’S SOLAR SPREAD

As yet another developer seeks to build a solar farm on green fields near Holsworthy, Penny Mills of Devon countryside charity CPRE explains why enough is enough.

This isn’t the first time my column has been about solar farms and it won’t be the last. I’m writing about them again because Devon CPRE has just produced a map showing the number, scale and spread of permitted and pending solar farm developments across Devon, which we think many people will find of interest.

Barely a week goes by without one local authority or another in the county considering a solar farm proposal. Our map shows that Devon now has 65 solar farms of 20+ acres approved or in the pipeline, with just one major application refused at Marsh Green in East Devon. The nine largest solar farms covering 100+ acres are all within the local authority areas of Torridge, North Devon, Mid Devon and East Devon.

As I write, proposals for a new development we oppose at Whimple are to be considered by East Devon’s planning committee, construction of the massive Litchardon Cross solar farm is underway in North Devon, and Torridge has recently received an application covering more than 25 acres for a solar farm and related battery storage on fields at Brandis Corner, near Holsworthy.

Devon CPRE has objected to the Torridge proposal because of its size and location in the open countryside. The developer wants to install 11,600 solar panels,

eleven industrial containers with batteries, three sub-stations and other infrastructure. We believe this would adversely impact the environment for the proposed 40-year lifetime of the solar farm and unjustifiably industrialise a greenfield site when there’s a growing need for our agricultural land to be put to better use producing food.

The publication of Devon CPRE’s solar farm map comes as the national charity launches its own campaign for solar to be located on rooftops, something we, as the Devon branch, have long campaigned for. But, as our map shows, these arguments often fall on deaf ears because solar farm developers have deeper pockets than our charity and are able to promote their agenda and interests and claim that covering our fields in glass panels and batteries is the answer to our energy crisis.

Of course, solar power has its part to play in providing so-called renewable energy but, in a wet climate like Devon’s, covering thousands of acres of productive pasture with glass is not the ‘green’ solution it’s claimed to be, especially when there are plenty of redundant brownfield sites and rooftops where the panels could be put.

We have our work cut out persuading planning committee members to see sense, but we won’t give up trying. Enough is enough already!

If you would like to find out more about protecting Devon’s countryside for future generations, go to www.devoncpre.org.uk.