According to a Royal Bank of Scotland press release last week:

London-based InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, one of the UK’s leading environmental infrastructure investors, has acquired three ground-mounted solar parks in Cornwall with debt financing from a consortium of banks – Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking, HSBC Bank Plc and Santander Global Banking and Markets.

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Wessex Solar Energy have applied to Torridge District Council for planning permission to construct what they call the "Beaford Brook Solar Park". The proposed solar farm will occupy 16.4 Ha of land at Upcott Barton near Beaford. According to the design and access statement it is designed to produce 5 MW of electrical power using:

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Since our last report on varying opinions concerning the potential environmental impact of the proposed solar PV park at Cofford Farm near Starcross some additional correspondence about the matter has been received by Teignbridge District Council.

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I've finally managed to check out my theory that the proposed solar PV park at Cofford Farm near Starcross:

Looks as though [it] may well be visible from one of our favourite walks past the Mamhead Obelisk

My theory was indeed correct, and here are a few pictures to prove the point. As I was taking a few snaps of the view from the Mamhead Obelisk at the weekend, several groups of people wandered past. The family pictured were amongst them. The gentleman said that:

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After a lot of prevarication the Department of Energy and Climate Change web site now proudly proclaims that:

Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Banding Review is now closed.

In a press release yesterday the Secretary of State, Ed Davey, said that:

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Last week's list of planning applications received by South Hams District Council contains the entry:

Request for screening opinion for Solar PV development (new site)

This seems to be an application by TGC Renewables for a large scale solar PV site near Harberton that they consulted local residents about at the same time as their Marley Thatch Farm site.

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The mound of virtual paperwork associated with the proposed 23.3 hectare solar PV park at Cofford Farm near Starcross has been gradually accumulating for a couple of weeks now.  In their original request for a screening opinion from Teignbridge council Hive Energy suggested that:

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The minutes of the meeting of the Teignbridge District Council planning committee have now been published, including the debate about a proposed 40 acre solar farm at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary that I contributed to last Monday.

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According to the front page news in this morning's Western Morning News, and under the headline "Eden in new 'hot rocks' scheme":

Energy independence, hi-tech jobs and a long-term income from exporting power to other parts of the country could be a reality for Cornwall by the end of the decade.

It's not a reality just yet, however, since although the Eden Project obtained planning permission for a geothermal energy facility from Cornwall County Council back in 2010:

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Doing my due diligence on the proposed 224 acre solar farm south of Week St Mary I was puzzled by the fact that the application mentions that:

The site is in close proximity to another large scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farm which will occupy land immediately to the south of Good Energy’s proposed site. This second scheme, proposed for development by Sun2Energy UK Ltd at Lower Wheatley Farm, is also a 25MW(p) scheme and therefore the potential for cumulative impacts is significant. Cumulative effects will be considered in detail by the specialist involved in assessing each of the above sub-headings.

After a bit more digging around on the Cornwall County Council planning search engine I discovered that there is indeed another proposed solar farm, which has been in the planning pipeline for rather longer than the one mentioned by the Western Morning News today. Despite a very different address and postcode the two solar parks are in fact of similar size, and right next door to each other. The developers of this one are Sun2Energy UK Limited, and in their request for a scoping opinion they refer to the site as "Canworthy Solar Farm". This one has now also been entered into our South West Solar hall of fame.

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