BNRG Renewables has obtained a 25-year planning permission from Shepway District Council's Development Control Committee for its proposed 18MW solar array in Old Romney in Kent.
The Committee voted 15 votes to one to support the scheme and a testament to BNRG's professional and best practice approach to the application. The Planning Committee Chairman commended BNRG on a well thought out and environmentally sensitive proposal.
The utility-scale project will be constructed on approximately 120 acres of land at Sycamore Farm and will be equipped with around 73,000 solar panels, which each have a capacity of 245 watts.
During the application process a small number of letters of objections were sent, including one from Protect Kent, a local branch of national countryside body the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Tom Brinicombe, Programme Manager at BNRG said to BBC "We have worked proactively to incorporate feedback from stakeholders and local residents into our plans and have had positive feedback on the application as a result, with fewer than 10 letters of objection. We remain committed to ensuring that as well as generating a significant amount of renewable energy, this project will also be well-screened and will increase local biodiversity." Tom, when on to say "We hope to commence construction in the near future and will remain available to local residents throughout the construction period."
David Maguire, Director at BNRG confirmed that the solar park at Sycamore is one of the largest in the UK and is deemed a near perfect site by the BNRG team due to its above average solar resource and minimum landscape visual impact.
