New solar panels plan for agricultural fields near Selby

Plans for a large solar farm on agricultural land near Selby in North Yorkshire have been revealed.

The 49.99 MW scheme would be built on land to the east of the town at Newlands Farm, near the village of Cliffe.

Lighthouse Development Consulting has submitted a scoping request to North Yorkshire Council for the authority to decide if an environmental impact assessment would need to be part of any future planning application for the development.

The company said in supporting documents that the site would comprise rows of fixed solar panels set out over 82.5 hectares of land, together with associated plant, cable routing and works.

“The solar panels will be spaced to avoid shadow and elevated on an angled frame, supported by pile-driven stakes erected with minimal disturbance to the ground and sited to achieve optimum exposure for sunlight absorption,” the documents stated.

“The photovoltaic panels will not emit noise, dust or vibration.”

The developer said the electricity generated from the scheme would feed directly into the local distribution grid.

They stated the farm would be operational for a period of 50 years before being restored to agricultural land.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the documents added: “It is intended that the land will remain available for livestock to graze between the panels in order to retain an agricultural use.

“Existing hedgerows would be reinforced with native species to deliver improved habitats and ecological benefits whilst screening views into the site.”

Planning permission has already been granted for a similar development at nearby Osgodby.

Last month, Quintas Cleantech submitted a similar request for a 49.9MW solar farm and battery energy storage scheme (BESS) on farmland between the villages of Cawood and Wistow.

The same energy company also wants to build a 30MW solar farm, along with a BESS capable of storing up to 10MW of electricity, on farmland either side of the A163 Market Weighton Road at nearby Barlby.

Several other solar farms have been planned for the area, including the Helios scheme which would see a 190MW farm built on land near the village of Camblesforth, to the south of Selby.

The solar farms would take advantage of existing energy infrastructure from the Drax power station.