Solar farm could be built in countryside (From Basingstoke Gazette)
When news happens, text BAZ and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Solar farm could be built in countryside
12:00am Monday 29th October 2012 in Andover
A SOLAR farm could be built in countryside near Andover.
Solar Power Generation Limited (SPGL) – which has similar farms in Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire – has applied for planning permission for the project, south of Longbarrow Westover Farm in Barrow Hill, Goodworth Clatford.
The 30-acre farm would consist of 23,400 panels, 2.9m high, arranged in tables.
It could supply green energy to 2,500 households – more than the population of Goodworth Clatford.
Test Valley Borough Council is currently considering the application, which was submitted at the beginning of the month.
Angus Macdonald, managing director of SPGL, said: “We select our sites carefully so that they are not visually intrusive and we do not believe this site will impact upon any residents’ views.
“Solar power is an important component of renewable energy resources and as we try to reverse the consequences of climate change it offers an abundant source of clean power for our future.”
However, a resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “It is highly inappropriate to place this eyesore in a beautiful part of Hampshire, right next to a footpath.
“I come out into the countryside for the beauty and sense of self, not to see solar panels. Surely there are enough roofs on both the Portway and Walworth industrial estates to take such panels, rather than spoiling the Hampshire countryside?”
