Delay unveiling Winkleigh ‘solar farm’ plan

Winkleigh Airfield 30 acre solar farm exhibition postponed for now

AN exhibition of plans for a proposed solar farm at Winkleigh today (Wednesday, January 26) was postponed at the last minute.

A spokesperson for the firm involved, vogt solar ltd, said the postponement was “due to a private business matter which unfortunately we can’t expand on at this stage.�

She said the public would be informed as soon as the exhibition was back on.

The firm’s proposal is for solar panels that could produce 5MW of energy at peak times, enough to provide power for around 1,200 homes.

Vogt solar ltd , is based in England and Germany, and developed eight such solar farms in other European countries last year.

The company lodged a planning application for similar-sized solar farm on a site in Cambridgeshire in December and proposes to make application to Torridge District Council for the Winkleigh site later this year.

It says the Winkleigh solar farm would be built on approximately 29.9 acres of low grade agricultural land and concrete runway, with a third of the total area being covered by solar panels at most.

Panels would be mounted between one and three metres above the ground, allowing plants and other habitats to remain and animals to graze.

Anton Milner, director for vogt solar, said it would be one of the first solar farms in the district and would make an important contribution towards achieving the national renewable energy targets. We look forward to meeting them at the consultation event.

“We have selected Winkleigh Airfield for this project as it receives good levels of sunlight, can easily be connected to the National Grid, is relatively flat and is without any buildings or landscape features that could cause overshadowing,� he said.

Vogt solar specialises in the development and realisation of photovoltaic (PV) power plants of every size. In 2010 it developed eight solar farms with a total capacity of 25MW.

The holding company vogt group is a pioneer of the established German photovoltaic industry, with over 12 years experience in solar business.

Solar power is already used widely in European countries such as Germany and Spain, harnessing natural sunlight to generate renewable energy.

The solar panels work by using photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity.

vogt solar says the UK has similar irradiation values to Germany, therefore it has similar potential to provide CO2-free solar electricity.