Campaigners want solar energy project dropped in South Lincolnshire
The company says it will provide significant amounts of electricity
Last updated 30th Aug 2024
A large Solar project located near to Market Deeping and Spalding is seeing strong opposition.
The Meridian solar farm, which would cover the size of 1'400 football pitches, is currently awaiting the green light from the government for construction work to begin.
However members of the action group against the project have warned of the dangers the farm will bring to the community.
A lot of people we've spoken to just really feel physically sick about the whole thing
Helen Huyton, a member of the Meridian action group opposed to the solar farm, believes it will have a negative impact on those living nearby.
Helen told us “A lot of people we've spoken to just really feel physically sick about the whole thing”.
“We've talked a lot to a lot of people about their mental health."
"These people feel that they've moved to an area or they've been brought up in an area that they consider beautiful and that's just been taken away from them”.
We fear the impact on wildlife
“There are some people that are literally going to be surrounded on all sides by solar panels and for them, they almost feel like they're in prison”.
A topic of controversy around the proposed solar farm is the impact it will have for the existing wildlife, and Helen doesn’t believe the messages from Meridian on the issue represent the full picture.
“The sort of talk that we get from the Meridian group is lots of pictures of birds and bunnies and things like that"
The company involved has previously said it would provide significant amounts of electricity
"But if you look at the landscape, then that's just not going to support that sort of wildlife”
“On a hot, sunny day, it's too hot for any bird to actually even land on them. "
"So a lot of the pictures that we tend to see from Meridian of birds perching on solar panels, it's not really going to be realistic.”
There are also 10 other large solar farms in Lincolnshire at various stages of progress, as the search for faster development of new energy sources continues.
David Vernon, Head of NSIP Projects, at Downing Renewable Developments commented:
If consented, Meridian Solar will deliver significant benefits at both a national and a local scale.
We are excited to be working with the community and local stakeholders in bringing this project forward and our recent non-statutory consultation was an important step in understanding the communities' views to help inform the early stages of design.
Over six weeks this summer, we met with hundreds of residents and interested stakeholders across five events.
The purpose of the events was to gather feedback that will play a vital role in helping us develop a project that not only contributes to the national energy need and the national net zero ambition, but also takes account of national and local specific issues in its design and operation.
We are currently reviewing all the feedback we received in advance of coming back out for the next round of consultation, in advance of submitting a Development Consent Order (DCO) application in 2025.
The location for Meridian was driven by the search for opportunities to connect to the national grid, and we’ve ensured that the highlighted site areas on the proposals map include land areas that can be used for environmental mitigation & enhancement zones, recreational areas, buffers, and community benefit initiatives, as well as areas for the solar and storage infrastructure.
We are also passionate about directly supporting the communities associated with our projects
These design principals support our long-term vision for Meridian Solar, where we are guided by sustainability, meaningful engagement, and environmental protection.
.Our ecology team will be carrying out vital habitat and species surveys to allow us to identify and mitigate any potential biodiversity impacts of the scheme.
By carefully considering what land uses are appropriate, we hope to create new habitats for wildlife and let plant life flourish around the panels.
We are also passionate about directly supporting the communities associated with our projects through community benefit schemes.
Forming a strong relationship with the community is important to us and we are continually exploring ways we can better support local initiatives.
Recent examples from other projects include providing rooftop solar installations, installing electric vehicle charging points, providing permissive paths for walking and recreational use, and creating STEM and employment opportunities. We are grateful for the feedback we received on these topics in the first consultation.
We will be updating on key findings from the first consultation in the Autumn and look forward to presenting our initial design proposals shortly thereafter.