Friends of the Earth plea for 117 hectare solar park near St Asaph

Friends of the Earth want a massive solar farm, set to be more than 10 times the size of Wembley Stadium, to benefit the community if the idea gets off the ground.

A consultation on the proposed 117 hectare renewable energy facility, to be called Elwy Solar Energy Farm, has been lodged with Denbighshire planners.

The proposal was made on behalf of Solarcentury, an international solar energy company based in London with interests across Europe Latin America and Africa.

The site would include a battery storage facility to capture energy. Photovoltaic panels could catch up to 62 megawatts of power from the sun’s rays.

The mammoth scheme, on land at Gwernigron Farm near St Asaph, is so big the decision will rest with Welsh Government’s planning inspectorate, not Denbighshire council.

Local Friends of the Earth activists want to see some form of community involvement introduced, so local people see a benefit.
Warren Davies, of Llangollen and District Friends of the Earth, said: “It is critical that we de-carbonise our electricity supply as quickly as possible.

“However if local concerns exist, then they must be taken into account when looking at any development.
“Local community ownership, in full or in part, of renewable energy generation is one way to ensure that the people who live near new facilities can benefit from the change of land use.

“We’d like to see a national plan showing how generation capacity can be more evenly distributed, and rules to ensure that local communities have more opportunity to benefit from developments.”

The company has organised early public engagement events next week in Bodelwyddan and St Asaph.
The consultation will run until July before a planning application is lodged sometime between July and August this year.
Construction and completion of the project will take three to eight months during 2022, if planning is granted.
The company has promised local job opportunities and supply contacts for businesses in the area.

The scheme is being set on what is considered good arable land and would be visible from the A55 and some historic buildings in the area.

However Solarcentury believes it will still be possible to graze sheep on the land and has promised to work with ecological partners to leave gaps for hedgerows and wildlife.
Although the site sits outside the development boundary at present it is hoped it will be added to Denbighshire’s next Local Development Plan (LDP) which is under consultation until later this month.

To find out more about the scheme, and the locations and times of public meetings, there is a dedicated website at https://www.solarcentury.com/elwy/

By Jez Hemming – Local Democracy Reporter