Representation by Susan French
- Date submitted
- 14 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Scale and Location of Solar Farm • The tragedy in Ukraine is highlighting the importance of food security. Much of the land is clearly fertile, high yield land supporting multiple types of crops. The UK cannot afford to lose such important agricultural land. Size of Battery Storage and Danger to Residents • Catastrophes such as Grenfell Tower illustrate how the UK needs to change its risk assessment of known hazardous materials. The scale of the batteries must be reduced. • This can be, at least partly, met if the project only installs the batteries it needs for solar generation. Installing large batteries for regeneration is totally incompatible with the green principles of this project. More batteries means more lithium, more manufacture, more transport. The negative environmental and carbon impact along with this increased fire risk must be recognised and this part of the project stopped. Dangerous Transportation Plans • The roads and pavements in Worlington are narrow making it dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. • The road between Worlington and Freckenham suffered a multi-fatality accident several years ago, and road safety is frequently raised as a concern with Parish and County Councils. The Sunnica plans show construction traffic for the entire Sunnica East Site A coming up Newmarket Road and turning left onto the B1102 at the Walnut Tree public house. This is a dangerous junction with poor visibility which results in frequent accidents. Large numbers of vans and heavy duty vehicles taking this route will pose a substantial risk to other road users and residents. Since the build is scheduled to last around two years it must be assumed that such traffic patterns would lead to fatalities. • Sunnica must build a service road linking Sunnica East A and B onto Elm Road. All construction traffic can then enter the site very close to the A11 junction at Red Lodge avoiding the need for journeys through Worlington and surrounding roads. Opportunity to Accelerate UK Renewable Energy Capability • As the largest solar park in the UK, this presents an excellent opportunity to build our solar technology base and meet the government’s ambition of a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’. The project should source a major proportion of the high-technology components (e.g. batteries and panels) from UK manufacturers. Need for Enhanced Landscaping Plan • People will walk lanes and paths and see nothing but panels up to 3.9m high. This is the height of a first-floor window on a house. The recent webinar by Sunnica indicated the landscaping would take 15 years to be effective. Combined with a two year build, residents and visitors will suffer the consequences for ~17 years before reasonable protection is afforded. A comprehensive landscape plan with dense tree planting is also an opportunity to extend the environmental benefit of this NSIP. The high CO2 impact of the build can be mitigated not just by the green energy generated, but the CO2 absorption by the landscaping. Inadequate Decommissioning Plan • Any granted application must include a fully scoped and funded decommissioning plan. This must come from central government since history clearly shows companies cannot be trusted to meet such a vital commitment.