Bid to install extensive CCTV at vandal-hit Holsworthy solar farm

A renewable energy company wants to install 56 pole-mounted CCTV cameras around the perimeter of its 34 acre solar farm in Torridge to reduce theft and vandalism.

Sunsave 12 Ltd says the system at Derriton Field/Tamar Solar Farm will improve security and enhance the safety of staff.

It comes after a recent break-in at the site in Pyworthy, near Holsworthy, which is known for its high number of solar farms.

When Derriton Field was granted planning consent for around 49,000 solar panels in 2013 it was the fourth of its kind in the village and was expected to power around 12,000 homes.

Planning documents by the applicant’s agent, Renewable Energy Systems (RES) said the cameras would provide full-perimeter protection.

It proposed that cameras would be within the existing fence line and set back from hedgerows to avoid unnecessary ecological effects.

All CCTV cameras, which will be coated green to minimise their visual effect, will be linked via cable laid in trenches and will use current infrastructure already associated with the solar farm.

The structures will face inwards and have no impact on nearby residents. The cameras can capture clear images in low light while remaining invisible to the naked eye, ensuring ‘effective and discreet night-time surveillance’.

Torridge District Council’s planning committee will decide on the application in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile another 164 acre solar farm in the village has recently been constructed, four years after it was granted planning consent.

Original owner Ripple Energy had billed it ‘Derril Water’ and the first solar park where members share ownership as well as the energy, as it is run as a co-operative society.

However, Ripple Energy has since gone into administration and was bought out by 1st Energy Technologies on April 4.

The new owners have reassured co-operative members of existing sites that business will continue as normal.

The Deril Water plan for 70,000 panels on 28 fields received a barrage of opposition back in 2021 over environmental concerns and loss of farmland.

Campaign group Pyworthy Solar Protest recently reiterated its call for an end to large scale solar projects on green fields, saying ‘enough is enough’.

The group claims that five per cent of the parish (290 acres) is now covered in solar panels.

Government officials said that solar is at the centre of its mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Labour has pledged to treble the UK’s capacity to generate solar power over the next five years.