June 30, 2012
South Hams DC Approves 8 MW Solar Park at Marley Thatch Farm near South Brent
The Farmer's Guardian reports this morning that:
Planning approval has been granted for the largest UK solar project to date.
The 8MW project will provide the South West of England based farm with a guaranteed rental income over the next 25 years, and enough electricity to power 2,500 homes. The 27,924 PV panels will be installed over five interconnected fields on a site comprising 15.4 hectares, [at Marley Thatch Farm] near South Brent in Devon.
The report makes it clear that in this day and age the financial incentive for this (and other large scale solar PV farms in the area) is no longer the Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs for short):
Project developer TGC Renewables said schemes were becoming more ambitious because they were eligible for support under the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) mechanism.
According to Rob Denman, director of TGC Renewables:
The main challenge is finding sites that are suitable and that meet the tough criteria that are required to obtain all the required permits.
Should you wish to peruse the large pile of virtual paperwork associated with the Marley Thatch Farm solar park project it is freely available on the South Hams planning website.
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