Representation by Gillian Margaret Stonham
- Date submitted
- 2 March 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Hello - this is the second of four solar farm applications that will cover 10,000 acres of Lincolnshire farming land. This project will cover 3500 acres of the 10,000. This will take an enormous area of arable farm land out of production when we need to be developing farming to provide the population with a sustainable and self sufficient supply of food. Lincolnshire currently supplies 1/5 of the nations food. Lincolnshire is an agricultural county and covering vast areas of land with glass will turn the area into a waste land of glass, some of it over 4.5m high. The level to which land degradation will occur is unknown but will most likely render the land barren for many generations to come. The habitat of much of the wildlife will be lost. Access to the open spaces is beneficial to local residents and visitors alike contributing to peoples well being and mental health. The proposed area receives on average 1500 hours of sunshine a year, and nothing during night time periods of darkness. As a result the productivity of the solar panels is minimal/intermittent, and the sites will make only a small contribution to the nations energy requirements while consuming vast amounts of resource during manufacture, construction and disposal. The construction of the panels is likely to be in China with all the concerns around human rights and our national security. The panels will be transported half way around the world docking at Immingham. From there they will be taken by large HGV vehicles, some with over 16 axels down the A15, already identified as a very dangerous road - and from there along single track roads to reach the entry points to the fields. There will be over 400 two way journeys along these roads for around a 4 year construction period. I am not against solar panels to generate some contribution to our energy needs, but a better solution would be brown field sites located near our current power stations complemented by the use of roof tops and a requirement for all new build houses to have solar panels/tile at the time of construction. Thank you.