Planning permission has been granted for a large-scale solar farm in Swindon which will be the size of 132 football pitches.
A giant solar farm in Swindon is expected to provide enough renewable electricity for almost 18% of homes in the Borough. The project will span across a site which is roughly the size of 132 football pitches – 95 hectares.
The Corner Copse solar farm will be located in Stanton Fitzwarren, a village northeast of Swindon.
The facility is expected to supply enough electricity to power 15,000 homes in the area (around 17.5% of all homes in the Borough). In addition to this, Swindon’s carbon dioxide emissions will also fall by around 25,000 tonnes every year.
Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Councillor Keith Williams said: “It’s fantastic news that we are going to see this solar farm built in Swindon. This is evidence of our commitment to protecting the environment and playing a role in tackling climate change at a local level.”
Recently, Solar data experts, Solargis conducted research which showed that solar irradiation in the south of England was 50% higher than normal during May this year. This change is thought to be a result of numerous factors such as: changes in global horizontal irradiation (GHI), low power demand, increased capacity and lower air pollution.
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