BSR Energy (BSR) is bringing forward a proposal for solar development of up to 18MW, which would power the equivalent 4,949 homes a year and provide a reduction of 4,384 tonnes of CO2 per year, on land at New House Farm. The proposal represents an important opportunity to boost green energy production in the local area.
The need to protect the planet from global warming has never been more important, and recent summer temperatures and resulting drought in the UK have reinforced this urgency. At the same time, the soaring cost of living crisis requires alternative energy projects which do not rely on expensive gas, to help reduce consumer bills long term.
Solar development is a cleaner and cheaper alternative to fossil fuels, helping to boost our energy independence. This is highlighted in the Government’s Energy Security Strategy, which calls for a five-fold increase in solar energy by 2035.
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has declared a Climate Emergency and is committed to making the Staffordshire Moorlands Carbon Neutral by 2030. Its ‘Towards Carbon Neutrality 2030: Climate Change Plan’, sets out the aims of promoting the use of renewable energy, and having 318MW of renewable energy available in the district by 2030.
BSR is dedicated to being part of the solution and the change towards renewable energy sources in the UK. The impacts of climate change are already evident, with extreme weather events such as record-breaking temperatures, droughts, and unusually heavy rainfall becoming increasingly common. The time to act and mitigate further damage to our planet is now.
Solar energy is an affordable and efficient form of green energy which is an important part of ensuring the energy independence of the United Kingdom and working towards meeting the UK’s target of net-zero by 2050.
BSR often gets asked regarding its developments, ‘why here?’. The key driver for looking for a suitable location to host a development of this nature is the National Grid.
Firstly, there is a need to identify a part of the Grid that has capacity, and then a suitable point of connection to export any generation needs to be identified. Once BSR has identified a suitable grid connection, landowners who have a suitable amount of land for the development are then contacted to gauge interest. Once interested landowners have been identified site visits are undertaken to view the land and discuss the proposal further. BSR also considers Land Grade, Landscape impact, Heritage, Flood Zones, Noise, Transport, and Ecology as part of the site selection process. A full Site Selection report which details why Land at New House Farm has been chosen will be submitted as part of the Planning Application.
We value the input of the local community and are eager to understand the community’s feedback at an early stage. Further information on how you can get involved in our consultation, or get in touch with the project team, can be found here.