Plans approved for solar farm in village

The solar farm will be built near a former landfill site in Small Dole

Plans to build a solar farm on a former landfill site in West Sussex have been approved by a council.

A report to Horsham District Council said the farm in Henfield Road, Small Dole, would run for 40 years and be capable of generating 12.5 megawatts (MW) of power – enough for about 3,500 homes.

An on-site energy storage system will be able to store 4MW of generated solar power, which would then be released back to the grid when needed, the council was told.

While Upper Beeding Parish Council supported the application in principle, it felt the location was "not suitable in its current state".

The council received eight letters objecting to the plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Roger Noel objected, saying that the site would be 300 metres (984ft) from the national park and that methane emitted by the former landfill could pose a fire risk.

However, the committee was satisfied with conditions attached to the planning permission, which required a fire strategy and safety report and a management plan, addressing risks associated with the contamination of the site, to be presented before work started.

The storage batteries will be lithium iron phosphate, which are said to be more stable and less susceptible to posing a fire risk than the more common lithium ion batteries, the committee heard.

Work on the site is expected to take three months to complete.

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