Plans for a new solar farm in Preesall featuring 21,565 panels have been submitted to Wyre Council

On Friday, a request to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment to “screen[] opinion for the development of a solar farm” was submitted to Wyre Council for the land to the West of Park Lane in Preesall, FY6 01A.

The planning documents show that the project is called ‘Brinewell Solar Farm’ and the application was submitted by Fuse Energy Supply Limited, a company based in London which describes itself as “a group of engineers and thinkers from Revolut, Tesla, and Voltalia, united around the vision of a company that puts the planet first.”

The applicant says they hope to screen opinion on the prospect of installing “a 12.9MW ground-mounted (GM) solar photovoltaic (PV) array development at the west side of Park Lane… . for the sole purpose of generating renewable electricity to offset imports from the national grid”.

They add that “the array will play a huge part in reducing the local carbon footprint and achieving the national target of net zero by 2045” with the development having “a direct connection to the national grid.”

Totalling approximately 21,565 in total, each row of the array will be placed 4.5m apart, in groupings of 18 panels (two rows of 9).

Drawings submitted as part of the request for an Environmental Impact Assessment show each slanted panel will be 2.75 metres tall at the apex and they will be 2.382m long and 1.134m wide. Each row of panels will also be 4 metres in front or behind the next row.

Access to the site will be gained via Acres Lane to the south of the site, off Park Lane Road and there will also be off-site parking available for cars and associated vehicles to the south of the site on Acres Lane.

The land is currently being used for agricultural usage, grazing grasslands and deciduous forestry but under these plans it will be home the array of solar panels as well as a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), associated infrastructure and onsite substations.

You can read the full planning application here.

The solar farm application for Preesall came just days before a written ministerial statement was laid before Parliament today urging ministers not to approve planning permission for solar farms on high-quality farmland as part of Rishi Sunak’s drive to protect food security.

A new planning framework unveiled six months ago was meant to make it clear that such projects should only be given the go-ahead when “necessary”, but ministers fear projects are still being approved that fall short of their demands.

Councils will also be told to take into account whether other solar farms are nearby when considering an application for a new one, thereby focusing on the “cumulative” impact.

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It comes after a vocal campaign on the issue by the Countryside Alliance who have repeatedly raised concerns over the threat to UK food security as a result of leaving less land available for agricultural production.

David Bean, Parliament and Government Relations Manager for the Countryside Alliance said: “We long campaigned for energy infrastructure to be sited sensitively, and for food production to remain the primary use of productive agricultural land. We welcome this statement as an important supplement to the recent revised planning framework.

“Like the government, we think there is much greater scope for encouraging solar panels to be placed on existing and new industrial sites, to help ensure rural areas aren’t asked to bear a disproportionate burden in the move to a net-zero energy system. That transition can’t happen without continued public support.”