New solar farm plans approved on Lincolnshire coastal site

Ecotricity, a renewable energy company and the Labour Party’s largest public donor, applied for around 20.5 hectares of land to house ground-mounted solar panels, which will operate for up to four decades.

The application site is at the south of Fen Lane in Conisholme, roughly mid-way between Louth and Donna Nook in East Lindsey.

Ecotricity says this parcel of land would be merely an extension on the current renewable energy developments in the area, whether it be the 20 wind turbines that were approved at Fen Farm in 2007, or the 5,000 solar panels that formed part of phase one of the Fen Farm solar project, and has been operational since 2011.

The generation capacity of this proposed farm is around 14MW, which could lead to a reduction of approximately 3,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and meet the annual energy needs of approximately 6,500 homes.

It would run for a maximum of 40 years from the first moment of electricity being extracted, before returning the land to its previous use as agricultural farmland, but with landscape enhancement measures remaining in place to secure the long-term sustainability of the area.

The farmland in question is grade 3b arable land with dykes along the boundaries and hedgerows, with no public rights of way passing through. It has not been identified as Greenbelt land, and the flood risk is considered low.

The site was approved by East Lindsey District Council on Friday, August 2, giving developers three years to commence construction of the solar farm, pending approval of a method statement and archaeological study for the attention of the local authority.

In the decision notice for the solar farm, the chief planning officer said: “The Local planning authority has worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner to seek solutions to issues arising during consideration of the application.

“The proposal is now acceptable and complies with the relevant development plan policies and the National Planning Policy Framework.”