Cornwall solar farm gets the green light to go-ahead

Freestanding solar pv

Cornwall Council has granted planning permission for a large scale solar farm to be built.

The development, which will see the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, will benefit from the Government’s Feed-In Tariff.

The solar installation will be constructed on land owned by the Lanhydrock Estate Company. The electricity generated will be supplied to Restormel Water Treatment Works, owned by South West Water.

Cornwall Councillor Julian German, portfolio holder for environment, climate change and waste management, said that planning permission was granted because of the opportunity for South West Water to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance its energy security by consuming the total power output of the solar farm.

The terms on which the planning permission was granted dictates that a number of community projects by renewable energy developer Cornwall Power is also required.

The council has also recently approved a 10-acre solar farm to be built in north Cornwall. Once complete in April, it will generate up to 1.8 MW of energy.