Solar farm could be a bright idea

PROPOSALS to build a solar farm near Swindon, capable of generating electricity for 1,000 households a year, will go on display next week.

A public exhibition has been put together by farmer Adam Twine, Low Carbon Solar Partners and Energy4All and will include information on the proposal to build a solar photovoltaic farm on land next to Westmill wind farm.

The £14 million farm is likely to be a first for the country as it is being designed to allow local people to be able to invest in it and own part of the farm.

Adam, who owns the land where the farm is intended to cover between 10 and 30 acres, is confident the plans will be well received by members of the public.

“Because it is such a big area, people will be concerned about what the visual impact is going to be and whether or not there will be a reflective glare from the panels,” he said.

“But I am very relaxed about the visual impact because the panels will only be about two-and-a-half metres tall, yes you will be able to see them from the Ridgeway, but it is 7km away and they don’t stand up like the wind turbines so you won’t be able to notice them.

“The panels will have a matt finish and will be angled as such so there isn’t any glare.

“Because it is all very new, I wanted to make sure people knew about it but I am very excited.”

The exhibition will cover all the technical aspects of the proposal, including photomontages of what the site would look like from near and far way as well as demonstration solar panels.

It will also have information about the intended community ownership and a chance to register an interest in the share offer.

Adam added: “I have a concern about climate change, I think it is something we all need to be taking seriously about how we get our energy.

“This is the way forward, we have to ween ourselves off of fossil fuels.”

The exhibition will run from 3pm to 7pm on November 16 at Watchfield Village Hall, with Adam Twine and representatives from Energy4All and Low Carbon Solar Partners on hand to answer questions.

Source - Swindon Advertiser