Botley West Solar Farm: Residents 'could get discount'

Developers behind a new solar farm say there could be an energy discount for people who live near panels.

The 1,000-hectare (2,471-acre) Botley West Solar Farm would cover sites near Botley, Kidlington and Woodstock.

Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP), the developer, said it intended to "deliver affordable renewable power to residents, at preferential rates".

West Oxfordshire District Council has urged residents to take part in a public consultation on the plans.

The project hopes to provide 840MW of power, enough to power around 330,000 homes, the equivalent of every home in Oxfordshire.

Project director Mark Owen Lloyd said: "Oxfordshire needs green energy. We're going to deliver at least 70% biodiversity net gain.

"This is biodiversity positive and is a real change to the intensive agriculture to which the land is currently subjected."

He added that there would be a "community energy fund which would distribute millions of pounds over the life of the solar farm" and energy would be sold at a discounted rate to nearby residents.

Campaigners have raised concerns about the farm, including its affects on wildlife and the Oxford Green Belt.

Laura Reineke, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said there were "far better ways of creating green energy - we advocate for rooftop solar".

"It's not actually worth doing, the construction and transportation alone will leave such a high carbon footprint that it may never pay back," she said.

Leader of the council Andy Graham said: "As one of the affected planning authorities we will be carefully considering the latest proposals over the coming weeks and we will submit a response.

"Some of the areas that the council will be considering will be the landscape impacts of the proposal, any impacts on heritage, and the biodiversity and ecology aspects."

He said the authority would "follow proper process to come to an evidence-based, properly informed decision".

The consultation will run until 8 February 2024 and community consultation events, led by PVDP, are currently taking place.

In October Merton College pulled out of the project following "further early-stage discussions".

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