Huge new solar farm plan for land in south Lancaster

Views are now being sought on the development of a new 10,500 panel solar farm just north of Bailrigg Lane.

The city council says the development at Burrow Beck could provide power equivalent to the electrical usage of around 1,300 homes, and offset 80 per cent of their electricity consumption.

Since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, the council has been working to reduce its CO2 emissions.

As part of the commitment to achieve net zero, the council has been carrying out a review of land holdings to determine which parcels could accommodate renewable energy.

The council currently consumes 5GWh (giga-watt hours) of electricity per year, and this is expected to rise considerably by 2030 as the council transitions from fossil fuels to electrically powered heat pumps and vehicles.

Burrow Beck has been identified as a site that could accommodate solar photovoltaics and the council has been developing a proposal to deliver a 4MW (mega-watt) plant consisting of around 10,500 solar panels.

The delivery of the scheme would enable the council to generate around 4GWh of renewable energy per year, saving in the region of 800 tCO2e (tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent) per year.

The council has begun an informal public consultation process, seeking views from residents and neighbouring properties on the development.

The delivery of the scheme would be subject to planning permission being granted, and also to securing final cabinet approval.

It is anticipated that this would be provided by the end of autumn.

Should planning permission and related approvals be provided, the council would aim to start implementing the project in about 12 months’ time, aiming to complete before the end of summer 2024.

The site covers an area of about 6.6 hectares in the south of the city, and is currently in agricultural use, with pockets of hedgerows and trees within the site the site, as well as mature trees to the northern boundary.

Have your say until August 1 on the proposals at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1dd4974d3eb14c5a93a6f42bad38fad5