June 19, 2012
Residents Oppose Tedburn St Mary Solar Farm
According to the BBC:
Plans to build a solar farm near Exeter have been opposed by some residents.
Regular readers please note that the residents in this case live west of Exeter near Tedburn St. Mary, not south of Exeter between Ide and Dunchideock. According to the BBC once more, this solar park has been proposed by Inazin Solar, and they say that:
The farm would generate enough power for 1,700 homes and save more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Click here to watch the report, in which Scott Bingham of BBC Spotlight says (amongst other things) that:
Campaigners are concerned about the impact the site will have on the landscape, They feel the scheme is just too big
Please also note that the proposed solar farm at Gold Cross Hill occupies 40 acres, and:
Teignbridge planners will consider the application later this month
Here's all the associated paperwork for the current planning application, and the request for the original screening opinion.
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Comments on Residents Oppose Tedburn St Mary Solar Farm »
I have some comments, which may be treated as objections if viewed in that way but I've not made up my mind and clearly cannot until I see all the evidence:-
1) Nearly 50 acres of productive farm land taken out of food production. Is this a sensible approach for UK food production compared to energy generation (daytime only), especially in the light of the current Rio+20 talks? UK needs sustainable energy and that means power when it's dark, not windy or too windy.
2) A huge "donation" of £30,800 to a small parish council as part of "community benefit". Just how is this going to reduce any potential impact of the installation? Community Benefit, currently S106 payments (or Community Infrastructure Levy coming in – CIL) is to provide practical solutions to accommodate the proposed development. What will £30,800 actually do? Provide tall trees growing all around the solar array?
3) According to the web page summary, it's a "delegated decision", so Jeremy Ebdon decides this very sensitive and principled planning application, not your elected Members, not those on the "site visit". Democracy at its best?
4) The proposal seems to be mainly about the land owner finding an alternative way to make their irreplacable asset more productive at reduced cost. Frankly, there is nothing wrong with that. But this bit of the planet might perhaps have more valuable use whereas the roofs in the locality don't.
5) Not a single significant roof space in any of the nearby industrial areas of Sowton, Marsh Barton, Heathfield, etc are covered in solar panels. Why, I wonder, doesn't a company like Inizin Solar do deals with those owners/tenants. Doubtless, not as commercially attractive but are we looking at the environment or the economy?
6) If a public highway were being built, then rules of blight would apply to the affected homes to compensate for the loss of value of living in a glass environment. Why not in this value-destroying situation? Because it's only temporary – 25 years?
7) Finally, Teignbridge DC planners must consider this in the context of the driving force of government subsidies distorting the economics. I installed PV on my roof because of the economics. I'd not have done so without subsidies. That's the carrot. If the Application were to be viable for the landowner and developer without any subsidies, but simply an agreement to sell the electricity to the highest bidder, I imagine more efforts would go into the spectacularly intelligent Tim Smit Eden Project geo-thermal plans that will, not surprisingly, produce energy 24×7, when it is actually needed.
8) I'm not, yet, convinced this solar farm is in the best interests of the UK energy needs, the local population, all the visitors who come to Devon for reasons of the AGLV, scenery and fantastic landscape.
Hi Dudley,
Are these the Eden Project plans you had in mind?
https://econnexus.org.uk/the-award-winning-eden-project-solar-pv-staff-share-scheme/#Geothermal
Jim