Representation by Jennie McClure
- Date submitted
- 16 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I have registered in order to object to Sunnica Ltd’s application to build a 2,500-acre solar and battery plant around our local villages. While there is an urgent need to find alternative and sustainable energy in the face of climate change, I feel very strongly that this application does not provide a viable solution for the following reasons: • Enormous safety risks with approx. 77 acres of battery energy storage compounds (BESS), all close to homes and some schools, representing the largest currently in the world and crucially for which Sunnica Ltd has no track record of building on this scale. It is documented that Li-on BESS fires cannot be put out and emit poisonous gases which can be lethal in small amounts; • Loss of 2,500 acres of greenfield land containing good quality, irrigated and productive vegetable growing farmland. In terms of the country’s food self-sufficiency, figures indicate that UK farmers and growers produced 64% of all the food eaten by people in Britain in 2019. This compares to 78% in 1984. We cannot afford to lose more land – and there is no guarantee from Sunnica Ltd that it can be returned by to its former agricultural use if this application is approved; • Devastation of the habitat to hundreds of species of flora and fauna – with over 1m solar panels, 100 acres of concrete and 30 miles of security fencing – and the beautiful environments that local communities have enjoyed with their families for generations, and especially during recent lockdowns, with huge benefits to mental health and wellbeing; • No local benefit in terms of employment, it is understood that the contractors are Yorkshire-based; • Creation of a huge carbon footprint as is it understood that the panels will likely be sourced from China, holding a notoriously poor human rights record and known to use slave labour for some panel production; • Negative effect on the value of local housing. Thank you for your consideration of my submission and I look forward to receiving further updates regarding the application.