Anglesey council votes in Wales' 'largest' solar park

One of the largest solar park applications submitted in Wales has been approved by Anglesey council.

It will be built on a 70-acre site, the size of 28 football pitches, at the Bodorgan Estate.

The project will generate enough electricity to power 4,500 homes annually and connect to the national grid via existing overhead lines.

But there is a condition that further archaeological work is done on one area of the site.

The vote in favour of the scheme by New Forest Energy was unanimous.

The Bodorgan Estate is owned by Sir George Meyrick and Lady Jean Taps Gervis Meyrick, the niece of the Duke of Buccleuch and the site is currently used for silage and grazing sheep.

The Anglesey site will use 64,000 panels generating 15 megawatts of power.

Despite fewer householders installing solar panels in the past year, more solar developments have been given the go-ahead by local authorities in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Commercial interest

Pembrokeshire became the first council in Wales to grant planning permission for a solar farm at Rhos-y-Gilwen Mansion, in the north of the county, in January 2011.

The project on a six-acre site, currently the largest in Wales, was up and running and connected to the national grid within seven months.

The trading price of carbon and the low cost of panels manufactured in China attracts commercial interest.

In December, the UK government said it regarded solar energy as key to meeting its renewable energy targets.

It has set a target of sourcing 15% of the UK's overall energy from renewable sources by 2020.

During the council's planning meeting it also decided to reject two applications for wind turbines.

One was on a farm near Penmynydd, and the other was on a farm near Brynsiencyn.