Two solar farms are earmarked for Melton

m03 Power, a specialist developer of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plants, wants to build a solar farm on about 30 acres of land owned by UK Coal north of Asfordby Business Park.

It held a public exhibition at The Stute in Asfordby Hill last night and said it may consult again within 21 days of lodging a planning application.

The firm says the 5Mw solar farm, consisting of solar panels mounted on racks fixed on the ground, will produce power for more than 1,300 homes and save up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide during the lifetime of the project.

Larry Mark, commercial director of m03 Power, said: “We promote opportunities which enable a community to unlock its potential to produce green energy with minimal associated environmental impact.

“Many former mineral extraction sites have an existing energy infrastructure that can readily be used by renewable energy providers and that is a much more cost-effective and sustainable strategy than ripping it out.”

Lark Energy, meanwhile, is to host an exhibition on Monday on its proposed development of a 33 acre solar farm near Kirby Bellars. The public are invited to visit the village hall in Main Street between 3pm and 7pm.

The proposed site is north of Leicester Road and the scheme is being designed to deliver about 5Mw of power, enough annual electricity to supply about 1,200 homes.

Jo Wall, land planning manager for Lark Energy, said: “We want to talk to local people about solar farms and show them what the Leicester Road solar farm would look like.

“We are aware, from preliminary discussions, that people want to know about the visual impact, noise, security, lighting and how the land is managed.”

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