Representation by Steven Gladwin
- Date submitted
- 29 January 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
As a resident with a young family who will be living on the edge of this dangerous power plant we have not been provided with sufficient information to be adequately consulted about the Sunnica proposal. My family and I live in West Row, Suffolk. It is our ‘forever home’ with our 2 young boys and we have been put under a lot of undue stress, uncertainty and fear with the proposed Sunnica scheme to destroy wildlife, the countryside, destroy productive arable land and our right to grow a locally sourced food supply and be self-sufficient. They will also put 40,000 human beings lives at risk from the massive battery plant that has history in other countries of massive lithium ion BESS explosions and fires. These are at plants nowhere near the scale of this proposed one. My family and I are all for renewable, wind and solar power energy but not so close to people, breaching their right to not live in fear. These solar and battery plants can be built offshore on industrial roofs or further away from human life. Sunnica say their solar energy scheme will have 78 acres of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The batteries used will be lithium ion batteries, which are known to be unstable. How will the local communities be protected from these potentially lethal batteries? The lithium ion batteries are susceptible to thermal runaway causing fires and explosions, such as that on Carnegie Road, Liverpool on September 15th, 2020. They have been banned in US states such as Arizona due to the unacceptable risk they pose. Never in the UK has there been BESS’s proposed on this scale and so close to villages. The fumes given off in these fires contain highly toxic hydrogen fluoride. When consumed at high levels, this gas can lead to death, at lower levels it goes quickly and easily through the skin into the body tissues. Sunnica has not provided any mitigation plans with regards to safety. Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Fire and Rescue have not been consulted. Some batteries units will be 10 metres high including their air conditioning units and will therefore be very visible despite screening measures The dust given off through construction could be bad for people living with lung conditions including asthma and COPD. The stress caused by this proposal for locals is huge due to battery dangers, housing prices falling and a noisy and disruptive construction phase. The removal of footpaths and the ugliness of the panels will mean people are less likely to take exercise and enjoy the local countryside, which has been so important to many, especially in the recent months of lockdown. The proposed site has several birds of national significance, one Annex 1 (the Stone-Curlew) and 5 WCA schedule 1 bird species. The site is also close to seven international, nine national and 31 locally designated sites for nature conservation and therefore the disturbance of the 2 years of construction and 40 years of solar panels will have a vast impact on our long-term ecosystems and bio-diversity. Sunnica’s proposed mitigation for most wildlife begins after the 2 years of construction, meaning irreparable damage will have already been done? How will this important wildlife be protected? Sunnica would be Europe's largest solar farm, spanning 1,130 hectares (2,792 acres) around encasing villages near Newmarket, Suffolk, and Fordham Cambridgeshire. The affected villages and number of populations impacted- Isleham 2300, Worlington 526, Freckenham 344, Chippenham and Badlingham 517, Snailwell 224, West Row 2854, Fordham 2712, Burwell 6309, and comes very close to schools in Red Lodge 3834, and edges onto Mildenhall 21098. (Total impact- 40,718 people). Just putting panels on just 10% of UK manmade water -bodies could reduce our carbon emissions by 4.5%. The cooling effect could make the panels 10% more efficient. This scheme will take 2,792 acres of versatile, irrigated, high yielding farmland out of production. o The majority of schemes of this size are located in deserts. Never before has a scheme like this been so close to villages and consumed so much agricultural land. Why have Sunnica chosen to locate the industrial solar scheme here? o This scheme will be three times bigger than any other scheme in the UK. Why does it have to be so big? o The scheme is stating that the land they are taking is poor quality agricultural land. On what have Sunnica based this conclusion? It is incorrect. The land is productive, and is currently growing potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, sugar beet, milling, malting barley, and rye. o The 1988 Agricultural Land Classifications maps show that large amounts of the farmland included in this scheme fall into class 2 and 3a, which classifies it as ‘best and most versatile land’. Under existing planning policy guidelines best and most versatile land should be protected for arable production not covered by solar panels. Sunnica has not been prepared to make public during this consultation period their land survey results, which is of great concern to us. I understand the government’s stance and commitment for us to take the lead and be Carbon neutral and ironically we could do this in other ways like producing crops on our green and pleasant land that can be burned for energy, whereas Sunnica solar panel and lithium battery power plant is unlikely to be carbon neutral over its lifetime and may even be carbon positive! I appeal to you to do all you can to oppose these inhumane plans