Leicestershire solar farm size of 53 football pitches proposed

Tess Rushin
·2-min read
Land off High Cross Road, Claybrooke Magna, Harborough
-Credit: (Image: Google)


A proposal for a huge solar farm equivalent to the size of 53 football pitches has been put forward for Leicestershire. The application, by Third Revolution Projects, is for land off High Cross Road, Claybrooke Magna, Harborough district.

The documents, sent to Harborough District Council (HDC), state the site is adjacent to the village of Claybrooke Parva and a five minute walk from the village of Claybrooke Magna. It is roughly 2.8km from the commercial area of Magna Park and 5km southeast of Hinckley.

The site, currently farmland, is approximately 38.4 hectares in area, which is equivalent to just over 53 full-size football fields. Plans note that the solar farm would have the capacity of producing up to 30MW, which roughly translates into powering 8,000 homes for 40 years, and would have "continued agricultural use" as the panels would be mounted off the ground.

READ MORE: Huge solar farm size of over 100 football pitches planned for fields to the south of Leicester

The application states the panels would be arranged in east-west rows approximately and tilted southwards. They would be mounted on metal frames and set into the ground by direct or screw piling. The panels are designed to absorb as much light energy as possible and so there is minimal glint or glare, it adds.

The proposal notes the panels would be ground mounted and not expected to exceed 3m in height The panels and frames can be completely removed when the site ceases operation after "a duration of up to 40 years".

Plans state that a security fence of around 2m high - which it is claimed would be appropriate to the agricultural setting - would be required around the perimeter of the solar farm. Lighting would only be required for emergency maintenance, they add. Infrared security cameras would also be installed on the site either on the boundary fence or on freestanding poles within the site.

Plans note an access track is being considered connecting an existing track to the east of the site which leads to Woodcutter Lane and Main Road at the edge of Claybrooke Magna. The solar panels would generate electricity during daylight hours, which would be fed into the local distribution network for use in homes and businesses on the same part of the network, plans add.

This first stage is not a planning application but a 'screening opinion', which means the applicant wants to establish whether the project needs an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). An EIA would assess the effects of the proposal on the environment.

Documents state the site is located within HDC, with the exception of 1km of cable route which would pass into Rugby Borough Council (RBC) and is subject to a separate screening request to RBC. The proposal site would connect to another proposed solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) called Copston Magna solar and BESS. The proposed Copston Magna solar and BESS scheme was subject to a separate EIA screening opinion to RBC. BESS systems can help to balance electricity demand and supply.

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