By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for a major new solar farm which could power the equivalent of every home in Nottinghamshire have been unveiled.
Great North Road Solar Park is proposed for land north-west of Newark, between the A1 and A617.
While developer Elements Green says it would provide much-needed green energy, MP Robert Jenrick has criticised the “breathtaking scale” and said the spread of huge solar farms “must be stopped”.
Designs show a ring of solar panels approximately four miles wide being installed close to the villages of Maplebeck, Ossington and North Muskham.
The village of Caunton would be encircled by land designated for panels (dark blue on the map) or ‘cable, access and potential enhancement areas’ (light blue).
The company claims that the solar farm would generate 800 Megawatts every year – enough to power 400,000 homes – and prevent the release of around 250,000 tonnes of CO2.
Consultations with local communities will begin early next year, with construction potentially starting as soon as 2027.
The scale of the energy production means it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
Therefore, the Secretary of State for Energy Claire Coutinho will have the final say, rather than Newark and Sherwood District Council.
The full amount of land the project would occupy hasn’t been confirmed.
Newark MP Robert Jenrick (Con) said he will be “campaigning hard to stop this solar farm and others like it.”
“It is a scheme of breathtaking scale. It would be a massive change to the landscape of the area, turning beautiful countryside into an industrial landscape and loses hundreds of acres of agricultural land,” he wrote on Facebook.
“This is not a reasonable proposal. It is completely out of control and must be stopped.”
He added that policies to promote solar developments were “being exploited and turned Frankenstein-like into schemes that destroy landscapes and completely alienate communities.”
Parish councils and local businesses contacted by the LDRS said they were still reviewing the plans, with public meetings to be held next week.
The company says the project would contribute business rates of £1.5 million to £3 million to Newark and Sherwood district.
They also plan to make £1 million available annually to community projects.
Project Director Mark Noone said: “We believe that local communities have an important role to play in helping to inform and influence how our proposals for Great North Road Solar Park evolve.
“We want to deliver this project responsibly and are committed to consulting as widely and effectively as possible, working together with residents, businesses and community organisations to improve and enhance our proposals as our plans for the project progress.
“We’re extremely keen to hear about any initiatives we could support or deliver to benefit those communities closest to the development through our community benefit scheme, known as NG+, which will be directly linked to this project.”
A spokesperson for Elements Green said: “Great North Road Solar Park is directly in line with the UK Government’s ‘British Energy Security Strategy’ for transitioning to renewable energy, energy independence and reduction of energy bills.
“We are keen to engage with local communities to share our early-stage proposals, giving them the opportunity to have their say, share their views and local knowledge.
“We strongly support the principle that infrastructure developments should bring benefits to the communities that host them and through our NG+ programme we’re keen to hear ideas around education, employment, energy efficiency and ecology.
“We would welcome the opportunity to meet with Robert Jenrick to understand his concerns so that we can take them on board, and as far as reasonably possible, factor these into the evolving proposals for the scheme.”
The government is aiming for the UK to become carbon net zero by 2050, and is hoping to produce 70GW of solar power by 2035.
