Anesco gets green light for 48 MW Staffordshire solar farm
Anesco has received planning permission from South Staffordshire Council for the development of a 48 MW solar farm in Coven, Staffordshire.
The 143-acre site will generate enough green electricity to power around 13 000 homes and save approximately 10 000 tpy of carbon from being produced. Its construction is expected to get underway in early 2025.
The site will benefit from advanced biodiversity improvements designed to support local wildlife and some of the country’s most at-risk species. These improvements go beyond planning requirements and will provide an estimated biodiversity net gain of upwards of 200%.
Once complete, the solar farm will be operational for 40 years, after which time the panels and infrastructure will be removed and the land returned to agricultural use.
Anesco CEO, Hildagarde McCarville, commented: “We’re delighted to have secured approval to move ahead with this project. The solar farm at Coven will generate significant benefits for the environment and form part of the renewable infrastructure and security of supply that the country so vitally needs, if we are to achieve net zero and the government’s target of 70 GW of solar by 2035.
“South Staffordshire Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and developed an action plan that includes encouraging renewable sources of energy supply. The project is fully aligned with those plans, while actively contributing to the UK’s energy transition and net-zero target.”
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/07102024/anesco-gets-green-light-for-48mw-staffordshire-solar-farm/