Oxford college's land could be used for solar farm

An Oxford college's land would be used as part of a major solar farm that could generate enough power for all of Oxfordshire's homes, the company behind it has said.

Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) said its Botley West Solar Farm could power up to 330,000 homes.

A consultant for PVDP said Merton College has agreed for its land to be used providing permission is granted.

The college has been contacted to comment.

Emily Marshall, a consultant for PVDP, said the application is at a "very early stage".

She said landowners including Merton College and the Blenheim Estate have agreed for their land to be used for the farm.

Any planning permission for it would need to be granted by government as the size of the project means it would be classed as nationally significant.

Helen Marshall, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said she was unsure if the project is the right one for the county.

"We need renewable energy and lots of it but it's got to be in the right place. In our view that is on roofs and buildings and there is plenty of new development coming forward in Oxfordshire that could accommodate solar," she said.

"We have obviously got to look at the detail of what's proposed here but certainly on the face of it we are particularly staggered about the scale."

Overall, the whole site measures 1,400 hectares (3,459 acres). Of that, 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) would be developable and another 400 hectares (988 acres) would be used for environmental mitigation and enhancement.

PVDP said Botley West could produce up to 840MW of electricity, similar in output to a retiring gas or coal power station.

A northern section would be 240 hectares (593 acres), a middle section 680 hectares (1,680 acres) and southern section 80 hectares (198 acres).

A consultation on the project was launched on Thursday and will run until 15 December.

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