Concerns raised about 'vast' solar farm on Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border
The Sunnica Energy Farm could power around 100,000 homes
Last updated 4th Mar 2022
Plans to build a “vast” solar farm across the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk border provide “inadequate” information, a council report says.
Cambridgeshire County Council has raised a number of ‘key concerns’ it has with the current proposals for the Sunnica Energy Farm.
Councillors agreed at a meeting of the county council’s Environment and Green Investment committee earlier today (Thursday, March 3) to say that the authority is currently unable to support the plans.
The new solar farm is proposed to stretch across four sites in East Cambridgeshire and West Suffolk, near Isleham, Freckenham, Worlington, Chippenham, Kennett and Snailwell.
The project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, and would include both solar panels and battery energy storage across the sites, which are planned to be connected by an underground cable.
Sunnica Limited, a joint venture between solar developers Tribus Energy and PS Renewables, say the scheme is an “important opportunity to meet the urgent national need for new, renewable, means of energy generation”.
The company has submitted an application for a Development Consent Order, and the plans will be considered by the planning inspectorate.
What does the report say?
The report presented to the committee earlier today is due to be sent to the planning inspectorate for them to consider alongside the proposals.
In it, the report set out the key concerns that had been identified by county council technical officers who had gone through the submitted plans.
The report said there are concerns over transport and access, stating: “There is a lack of evidence supporting assumptions made and the conclusions to assessments provided. Consequently, there are several impacts the county council is of the opinion are not sufficiently assessed.”
It added that the draft DCO does not have “sufficient” highway provisions to make sure the local highway authority is “adequately engaged”.
Concerns that plans to mitigate the archaeological evaluation work are “vague” were also raised.
The report said there is “inadequate detail” in the environment statement submitted relating to ecology and nature conservation, and that there is “insufficient evidence” to show how there will be a biodiversity net gain.
It added that there is a “lack of data” to prove the feasibility of proposed measures relating to flood risk, drainage and water resources, and that no flood zone compensation was proposed.
The report also raised that how well the farmland can currently produce crops “seems to be understated” in the submitted plans.
This point was picked up by councillors at the meeting. Councillor Anna Bradnam said she would like to see more information on the productivity of the land, not just the soil assessment.
She said that each year the highest yields recorded in England and Wales come from the general area of Suffolk where the solar farm is proposed.
‘We must not undersell the size of this’
Councillor Mark Goldsack said he would like to see an independent assessment of the land undertaken.
He also said he did not think the language used to describe the size of the proposed site was strong enough.
Cllr Goldsack said: “We must not undersell the size of this, you really really must not.
“Take a Sunday afternoon drive out and tick off these villages as you drive through them and I tell you what you will have to refuel on the way round, it is that far, it is that big, it is that vast, let’s not lose sight of that.
“We must make sure that the local members and the local residents here are captured and put into this paper.
“I just stress to the point that the size and reality of this really does matter.
“Saying this is a large development does not do it justice, it is the largest in the UK, it is proposed to be the largest in the UK and largest battery storage in the UK, and that needs to be noted and we need to reflect that in our report.”
Council officers recognised that it is very large, but said they would need to check before confirming that it was the largest in the UK, which they were asked to do.
Councillors also asked that the number of parishes covered by the proposals should be listed in the county council’s response to the planning inspectorate, in order to emphasise how big the proposed development would be.
Concerns were also raised over the fire safety of the proposed batteries to be stored on the site.
Council officers said that providing the response to this concern is was being led by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.