2023

SU5516 : Upcoming solar farm on land at Locks Farm

taken 1 year ago, near to Waltham Chase, Hampshire, England

Upcoming solar farm on land at Locks Farm
Upcoming solar farm on land at Locks Farm
Drone photo. The field in the centre of this photo is the fourth (counting from west to east) of the five fields due to be covered by solar panels. To its west Link . A stream forms the left boundary of this field and is also seen in centre foreground of this photo. Beyond the pylon can be seen the buildings of Locks Farm itself which were not part of the solar farm development. The 400 KV pylons incidentally run across the site but are not involved.
Solar farm on land at Locks Farm, Bishop's Waltham

In March 2021 planning application 21/01391/FUL was made by Intelligent Alternatives on behalf of NextEnergy for an 18 MW solar farm on land at Locks Farm, Bishop's Waltham.

It was estimated to employ 53,333 solar panels on tables between 0.8 and 3m above ground so that sheep could graze beneath them. A gap of 3.2m would be allowed between rows of panels to facilitate maintenance and agriculture.

The solar farm would also include a battery energy storage facility (BESS) in five large shipping containers so that unwanted solar power could be stored and released later to the grid. The BESS feature proved to be the most contentious to the local residents and it was removed from the application on 22nd September 2022.

About nine inverter/transformer cabins would be located around the site, together with switchgear and substation buildings and a 15m tall mast. Connection to the grid would be via an existing 33 KV line running across the site from Bishop's Waltham to Eastleigh substations.

Permission for the development was finally granted by Winchester City Council's planning committee on 15th March 2023. See Hampshire Chronicle article LinkExternal link . There were no less than 286 documents attached to this planning application which took two years to get through the planning system.

The drone photos show the state of the affected farm land immediately before the development began.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Peter Facey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Energy infrastructure Lowlands Farm, Fishery, Market Gardening Primary Subject: Field
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SU5516, 10 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Peter Facey   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 19 March, 2023   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 19 March, 2023
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SU 5521 1612 [10m precision]
WGS84: 50:56.5132N 1:12.9338W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SU 55266 15830
View Direction
NORTH (about 0 degrees)
Clickable map
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SW S SE
Image Type (about): cross grid  aerial 
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