British Solar Renewables (BSR) is preparing to submit a planning application to West Oxfordshire District Council for a solar park and battery storage facility area on land south of Ramsden, Akeman Street, Ramsden, OX7 3AY.

The solar park would have an approximate design capacity of 20 MW and would generate an estimated 20,000 MWh of clean, renewable and sustainable electricity per year. This is equivalent to the annual electrical needs of approx. 6060 family homes. The anticipated CO2 displacement is around 6202 tonnes per annum. This is equivalent to removing 3,970 conventional cars from the road each year.

The approximately 111-acre (45Ha) site will be located in a number of fields which are currently used for arable farming. In addition to having solar panels on the site, the proposal also includes a small energy storage component in the form of a 1.5MW battery. Biodiversity and landscape enhancement measures, such as the gapping up of existing hedgerows and provision of improved grassland, to ensure there is a minimal visual and environmental impact, will also form part of the scheme. It is proposed that access to the site would be provided using the existing access point on the junction of St Johns’ Lane restricted byway and Akeman Street.

* For every 5MW installed, a solar farm will power over 1,515 homes annually (based on an average annual consumption of 3,300 kWh of electricity for a house) and save 2,150 tonnes of CO2. Approximately 25 acres of land is required for every 5 megawatts (MW) of installation.