Hertfordshire County Council is drawing up plans for its own 124-acre solar farm on the edge of St Albans.
Smallford Pit – which sits in the Green Belt on the edge of the A414 – has been earmarked for a £26.5 million solar facility, which would include thousands of photovoltaic panels and battery storage.
The proposals were endorsed by members the county council’s cabinet on Monday.
Within days the county council will now make a payment of £50,000 to UK Power Networks to secure grid availability.
And officers from the county council – who have already held informal talks with planners at St Albans District Council – will ‘explore’ the options and develop the plans further.
Ultimately electricity generated from the solar farm – on the former landfill site – could be used by the county council or sold back to the grid.
And it has been estimated that the energy generated by the solar farm could bring £2 million a year to the county council – through savings or sales.
At the meeting of the cabinet, executive member for resources and performance Cllr Ralph Sangster said: “Renewable energy sources are becoming more affordable and desirable.
“As a significant land owner, we are always looking to find suitable uses for land which as been identified as sub optimal agricultural land and is not suitable for contributing to our county’s growth agenda.
“A site at Smallford Pit has been identified as suitable for the development of a 22 mega watt solar photovoltaic energy and battery storage facility.
“This proposal has the potential to significantly contribute to the council’s objective of reducing its carbon consumption and contribute to its annual revenue budget.
“To use a well-worn phrase, a win-win opportunity.”
The Smallford Pit site – a former landfill site owned by the county council – is in the Green Belt and is currently used to graze horses.
It has been put forward as a potential site for residential development, but it was not taken forward by St Albans District Council.
Renewable energy projects are not listed as appropriate development within the Green Belt, but the report to councillors stresses that it may meet the ‘very special circumstances’ required.
And, says the report to the cabinet, the site is judged to have good grid connectivity potential.
On Friday (December 13) the proposal had also been backed by a meeting of the county council’s resources and performance cabinet panel.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Paul Zuckowskyj asked whether guidance from planners at St Albans would be received before the £50,000 payment was made.
He was assured that it would be and that if the proposal did not go ahead part of the £50,000 could be returned – depending on the amount of work that had been undertaken.
The county council has already cut carbon emissions from its buildings – not including schools – by 38 per cent, over the past six years.
And as well as the environmental benefits – it’s estimated to have cut council costs by £3.2m a year.
Nevertheless by 2025 the council aims to have cut carbon emissions by AT LEAST 80 per cent.
On Monday the cabinet also backed the county council’s ‘energy strategy’, which aims to reduce energy consumption and to achieve a more ‘joined-up’ approach to make savings and to generate income for the council.
It also aims to attract investment and to develop low carbon energy infrastructure to support transport, housing, waste management and smart community projects.
Cllr Sangster told the cabinet: “The policy objective is to reduce the council’s carbon footprint by 85 per cent by 2025 – with the prospect of even more ambitious objectives being developed as part of the councils wider ‘sustainable Herts’ strategy.”
According to the strategy, it also includes ‘water management’ activities. Projects have already included monitoring of consumption and costs, leakage surveys and hydro zip taps.
The strategy says ‘demand reduction’ in toilets is also being explored.
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