Plans go in for new solar farm near Boston

Land off Cowbridge Road, near Bicker, one area where development is proposed. Picture: Google Street View

The bid has been made to Boston Borough Council and South Holland District Council by AGR Solar 2 Limited and regards land to the west of Bicker and north of Northorpe.

The proposal is to build and run a photovoltaic solar array with associated battery storage and ancillary development for a period of 40 years, after which the site would be decommissioned, and restored to its former condition.

The development would include a connection cable to National Grid’s Bicker Fen Substation.

The proposed site comprises an area of about 97.3 hectares (including grid connection and access) of arable farmland and would provide a solar farm with an export capacity of up to just under 50MW of electricity (MWe) during peak operation.

The planning and design and access statement submitted to the councils states: "The applicant has undertaken an extensive site search exercise to identify potential locations for solar farms across the UK.

"The site search exercise focused on areas in proximity to National Grid Substations with capacity to connect large scaleSolar PV arrays.

"The Bicker Fen Electricity Generating Substation located off Vicarage Drove and adjacent to the existing Bicker Wind Farm, was identified as a primary search location due to available capacity and necessary land areas.”

"The proposed development is financially viable and can be brought forward immediately with energisation expected in 2024,” it adds.