The 80-acre solar panel farm will be developed at Tolldish Hall Farm, North East of Aldermans Green, and will generate 25MW of electricity, which will be fed back to the grid. This is sufficient to power 7,091 homes.
The local plan for Nuneaton and Bedworth states that 14,000 new houses will be needed within the area between 2024 and 2039 meaning the new solar farm will be able to power over half of this planned housing.
Loughborough-based specialist land development and property consultancy Mather Jamie has played a role in securing planning permission.
Hamish Byers, head of sustainable energy at Mather Jamie said: “There is significant growth in the renewable energy market and planning committees seem to be supportive of projects as long as their impact on the local environment meet biodiversity nett gain BNG criteria. Solar farms also enable farmers to diversify and create additional revenue in an agricultural industry which is under significant pressure.
“The UK has a target to be net zero by 2050 and this development at Tolldish Hall Farm will serve a key role in the vital transition towards using renewable energy. The conversion of the land from monoculture cropping to grassland mix will also have a significant biodiversity uplift.”
Byers is working on a significant number of other renewable energy projects across the UK. The combined energy production from these schemes (if all are successful at planning) will produce enough electricity supply to power in the region of 400,000 to 500,000 homes.
