Chelmsford: Solar farm to power 8,000 homes approved

A solar farm that can power more than 8,000 homes in Essex has been approved by planners.

The 35-hectare (86 acres) site will be built either side of a quarry complex in the village of Danbury, near Chelmsford.

Chelmsford City Council imposed several conditions including returning the land to agricultural use at the end of the solar farm's 40-year lifespan.

The authority said there were "substantial" benefits to the project.

It will generate approximately 25 megawatts of clean renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 8,307 homes, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council said if the solar farm ceases to export electricity to the grid for a year it has to be removed.

Danbury Parish Council had strongly objected to the proposal which it said would introduce an "industrialised aspect to a gateway village".

But Chelmsford City Council said there was a "recognised need" and support for renewable energy technology and the development would contribute towards increasing the county's renewable energy sources.

It said: "The main benefit arising of the scheme is the contribution to the production of renewable energy and consequential reduction in CO2 emissions."

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