Representation by Fiona Maxwell
- Date submitted
- 17 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to the Sunnica scheme for the following reasons: • I have grave concerns about the safety of the siting of 77 acres of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Sunnica have yet to determine the actual batteries to be used, so there is no effective risk assessment or risk mitigation in place. The siting of the BESS so close to settlements is unusual and hazardous. The consequences of a fire, and the very real possibility of thermal runaway, will be a life-threatening disaster waiting to happen. • The loss of thousands of acres of productive arable and pasture farmland is of serious concern, particularly as recent geopolitical events have highlighted the importance of increasing our food security. Sunnica have graded the land incorrectly, as poorer than it actually is. Replacing fertile agricultural land with solar panels is a false economy. • The areas used for both solar panels and BESS will destroy the habitats of much wildlife, both flora and fauna. It will adversely affect the Chippenham Fen Nature Reserve, which is home to many rare species, including at least one plant which is found nowhere else. • The visual landscape is vibrant and attractive, and rooted in ancient settlements. Thousands of acres of solar panels will turn this landscape into an unnatural, industrial blight. This particularly applies to view from the Lime Kilns in Newmarket. This is a world-famous site for racehorse training, which has been unaltered for hundreds of years. It is what makes Newmarket unique in the racing industry and beyond. No amount of mitigation will help with this. It cannot be underestimated how adversely this scheme will affect Newmarket and the racing industry which provides its main employment and economy. • The scheme will not be ‘green’; the production, transportation, construction, installation, operation, decommissioning and disposal of the solar panels and batteries will have a huge carbon footprint which will not be offset during the scheme’s lifetime. The scheme will not contribute to Net Zero. This has been verified by a reputable UK University. • There is no plan for decommissioning. There is currently no mechanism for recycling solar panels or their components, and no reason to believe that there will be one when the scheme ends. There are many examples of disused solar installations being left to rot, with no removal of panels or the chemicals and minerals they contain. • It is essential that no solar panels are sourced which have been manufactured using forced labour. Currently, 80% of the world’s supply of solar panels are made in China. There is a systemic problem with Chinese manufacturers using forced labour and other human rights abuses. Mining for the minerals required for the production of solar panels is also controlled mostly by China, using child labour. • The construction phase of the scheme will be extremely disruptive to our villages, with hundreds of HGV movements every day on small roads which are not suitable for this purpose. The noise of driving millions of piles to support the solar panels will be unbearable.