A GIANT solar farm is being proposed, spreading across 24 sites around Kirkpatrick Fleming, Eaglesfield, Gretna and Chapelknowe.
Provisionally titled Wyseby Hill Energy Village, it would span 3250 acres around the different settlements, with 14 landowners involved.
Developers Green Energy International (GEI), based in Stockport, have lodged a proposal of application notice with Dumfries and Galloway Council, which gives an outline of the proposal.
They have also started to notify near neighbours, of which they have identified 196 residential properties within 100 metres of the different sites.
The ‘solar photovoltaic array electricity generating scheme’ will centre around Wyseby Hill Farm at Kirkpatrick Fleming and also include a battery storage facility.
It would connect to the National Grid at Chapelcross, as part of their proposed new green energy hub, and it has the potential to export one gigawatt of power.
Official documents now available on the council website say of the project: “It will be of particular interest to those potentially affected by the site who live in or around the villages of Kirkpatrick Fleming, Eaglesfield, Gretna, and Chapelknowe.”
GEI describe it as “a nationally significant renewable energy development”, adding: “This project aims to establish a mixed energy generation facility predominantly focused on solar photovoltaic technology, set within a parkland-style environment with new footpaths and cycle routes aimed at boosting local tourism and the local economy.
“The project comprises a number of land parcels for the solar arrays, grid connection infrastructure and potential energy storage.
“The development spans approximately 24 ‘farms’, covering an area exceeding 3250 acres. Integral to the scheme is the construction of a new 400Kv substation spearheaded by GEI and developed/constructed/owned by the National Grid, facilitating connection to the National Grid’s north-south powerlines.
“The scheme would generate large amounts of electricity from a renewable source and so it would assist the Government in meeting its targets to decarbonise our electricity supply and reduce the nation’s overall carbon emissions.”
Elected members and community councillors are being invited to a preliminary consultation event in Gretna Green on September 19.
Several further public consultation sessions will be held thereafter.
However, there’s already been some reaction locally with residents querying the cumulative impact if it goes ahead, along with the planned solar farm at Jockstown near Annan, and another in the pipeline near Chapelcross.
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