Representation by Alan Borderick
- Date submitted
- 1 February 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
This application is flawed on every level. 1. There has been negligible consultation between Sunnica and the local population. Sunnica have hidden behind the coronavirus pandemic to avoid engaging with affected villagers and councils. They have been invited to attend meetings (most recently chaired by the 2 MPs in whose constituencies these plans fall) and they have declined all invitations. 2. The proposal claims green credentials. In reality, the solar panels will cost more to manufacture and transport than they will save in their use. And that is before you factor-in the hundreds of lorry journeys every day for 2 years erecting the sites. Also before you consider the cost of decommissioning the sites after 40 years. It is presently unclear exactly how the sites can be decommissioned. There is a serious concern that the panels cannot be recycled and will end up in landfill sites. 3. The panels are apparently manufactured in China by people who are being “re-educated”. If this is the case, then approval by this government would be tantamount to giving a green light to slavery. 4. The sites which are proposed for “development” are prime growing land. They are not areas where nothing grows. They have been actively managed for centuries. Crops produced in this area are of such great quality that local farmers have contracts to supply national supermarkets. This would all be lost forever. Upon decommissioning, the land would be sufficiently contaminated that it could not be returned to producing food. 5. To state the obvious, this island has a finite amount of land. We also have a growing population which needs feeding. If we take large areas of food-producing land away, we will have no option but to import more food from abroad. Transportation of these supplies will further erode the alleged green credentials of this plan. It will also put this country more at the mercy of international forces over which we will have no control. 6. Surely, it must be greener and more cost-effective in the longer term to sight solar panels on rooftops - factories, industrial units, new-build houses; also on existing brownfield sites. 7. The plans provide for a significant number of battery units. These are used to store the electricity until it is transferred into the National Grid. Why? Why will the electricity not be fed into the Grid as it is being produced? Is it so that the timing of this upload can be controlled to happen at times when the price is higher? This application is riding the short-sighted green wave which is currently being promoted. But the real reason is: PROFIT. And short term profit without thought to local populations, wildlife or the long term needs of the country. 8. The battery units themselves are a proven danger; a fault in just one cell causes a chain reaction. The resultant fires are very difficult to bring under control and cause highly toxic fumes. Living anywhere in proximity would be likened to living next door to a ticking bomb - you know that it is highly likely that it will go off, you just don’t know when.