4.4MW solar park planned for Suffolk

A detailed planning application has been submitted to Waveney District Council to build the solar park on 24 acres of privately owned farm land at Reydon Farm. The project would involve the installation of 12,800 solar panels and the electricity generated would be fed back into the national grid.

AEE Renewables has had a presence in the UK solar market for the last two years and the developer says it has been responsible for building one in every eight solar farm parks in the UK. As part of its planning application they state that the opportunity is there to enhance biodiversity and retain agricultural use. The development should also cut emissions by some 2,400 tonnes of CO2 every year and would be “sympathetic” to the surrounding landscape. However, over the course of three months up to 10 lorry movements a day would be necessary during construction, which needs to be taken into consideration.

Commenting on the proposal, Simon Gray, chief executive officer for the East of England Energy Group said it was vital to consider the interests of the local population, as well as environmental and financial implications, and that they would be monitoring its progress closely.

“As energy industry association for the East of England, we take a keen interest in all energy sectors, particularly where there is potential local investment in producing energy from sustainable sources to provide vitally needed power to the country in future,” he said.

Suffolk Coastal MP, Dr Therese Coffey told the East Daily Times that Suffolk welcomed the solar farm park because it “makes a lot of sense in our part of Suffolk.”

This won’t be the first large-scale solar park in the area. In 2011  Adnams brewery installed 962 solar PV panels at its distribution centre in Reydon.