Representation by Carol Smith
- Date submitted
- 29 April 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
My objection to the Byers Gill Solar Development I am very concerned that the proposed Byers Gill Solar Development is an ill thought through idea that does not take into account all environmental, local community, and food security factors that it will impact. Although this might seem like a convenient short-term way to deliver a bit of renewable energy, it has clearly not been assessed as part of a joined-up, holistic plan for the future long-term sustainability of the nation. 1: Turning useful agricultural land into a solar farm is wrong: (i) It will negatively affect food production and reduce our long term ability as a nation to feed ourselves. Once farm land has become industrial space, it never returns to food production. (ii) It will affect biodiversity in the area. (iii) “The land itself is already a solar farm…it turns sunlight into food energy for people …” Dr. John Constable, The Renewable Energy Foundation 2: There are more effective ways to invest funding in renewable energy: (i) Solar farms provide intermittent energy and generate hardly any energy in the winter months. (ii) Wind turbines generate ca. 4x more of their installed capacity than solar panels (iii) The embedded carbon footprint of a solar panel is almost 7 times higher (gms of CO2/ kWh generated) than a wind turbine. (iv) Solar farms have no connectivity to the National Grid, unlike wind turbines 3: The long-term impact on this rural community will be heavy, while other nearby brownfield sites go un-used (i) The proposed solar farm will surround the small community of Great Stainton , which is a conservation village. It will become a curiosity in the middle of this industrialised landscape, and local heritage will be lost (ii) There is (eg) a nearby brownfield site (ex Redcar Steelworks) that could be used for this solar farm. If the economics of this Solar farm only work with a greenfield site, then we have to question the real long term value of this proposal. I firmly believe that we MUST move to renewable energy as a nation and globally, but this proposal is not looking at the question holistically. I have friends and family who live in this area and I believe this proposal is wrong for them and wrong for the future holistic sustainability of our nation. Investment should focus on brownfield sites, and off-shore wind farms. We must not deplete our natural resources further by building on farm land.