SOLAR FARM SET FOR SALFORD AFTER COUNCIL APPROVES PLANS FOR 6,000 PANELS IN LITTLE HULTON

A large scale solar farm of almost 6,000 panels is set to be built in Little Hulton.

Salford City Council approved plans to its own application at a virtual planning meeting on Thursday 18 June.

Plans show the 3.79 hectare solar farm will be located on coarse grassland to the west of Kenyon Way.

5,094 solar panels will be built in rows 2.4 meters high with a four metre gap between the rows to avoid shadowing. Overall the state-of-the-art farm is expected to have a 25 year lifespan.

Works to build it will take approximately five months when contractors start on site and it is expected the energy generated should power 438 homes a year in Salford.

Councillor Derek Antrobus, Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development at Salford City Council, said:

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“I welcome this approval as a major step forward in Salford’s ambitions to play our part in cutting carbon emissions to minimise the scale of climate change.

"In the past decade we have reduced our carbon emissions by 50%; we became the first authority in Greater Manchester to convert its street lights to LED; and all the electricity used by the City Council comes from renewable energy suppliers. All this helps to combat climate change and save money.  This solar array will make a massive contribution to our targets.”

 

The project was made possible thanks to the European Regional Development fund.

The council is also encouraging residents to compare clean electricity tariffs and switch to renewable energy with ease at https://bigcleanswitch.org/gm/ - the average savings so far is over £230 a year and switching takes a few minutes.