Planning consent has been given for EDF Renewables UK’s Tye Lane Solar Farm. Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning committee has given the project the green light following extensive consultation. The 49.9 MW solar farm will be located on Tye Lane, north-west of Bramford.
Amongst growing concern about climate change and energy security, Tye Lane Solar Farm will be capable of generating enough low carbon electricity for the domestic needs of more than 14,500 households annually* whilst saving around 17,100 tonnes** of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
In addition to the benefits of generating clean, green electricity, EDF Renewables UK will establish a community benefit fund of £20,000 paid annually for the 35-year lifetime of the project, to support local social, environmental and community initiatives.
Darren Cuming, Head of Development, at EDF Renewables UK, said: “We are very pleased to receive planning consent for Tye Lane, which is a great site for solar. EDF Renewables UK is an experienced developer, and we are firmly committed to solar as a technology which will help us accelerate a net zero future where clean energy powers all our lives.
“In addition to the community fund, we also plan to deliver other benefits as part of the project; we will plant extensive species-rich wild flower and grass margins to enhance local biodiversity, provide further woodland blocks, new hedgerows, and install bird and bat boxes.”
EDF Renewables UK will now plan next steps with the aim of starting construction later next year. Construction will take approximately 6-9 months. The grid connection route runs south of the site across arable fields to the Bramford substation.
* ‘PV Syst Photovoltaic Software’ was used by EDF Renewables to predict that the solar farm will have a potential annual yield of approximately 67 500MWh (to 3 Significant Figures (3 S.F.). In terms of household electricity usage this would be sufficient to offset the equivalent annual energy needs of 14 500 (to 3 S.F.) average Mid-Suffolk homes (based on average domestic consumption per household of 4 663kWh (DBEIS, 2020).
** In order to calculate carbon offsetting, EDF Renewables took a conservative approach by utilising the UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors (DBEIS, 2021b) for company reporting of annual carbon emissions. On this basis the electricity produced by the Tye Lane Solar Farm will offset approximately 17 100 000kgCO2/annum or 17 100 tonnes CO2 per annum (to 3 S.F.).
