UK developer Infrabee has secured planning permission for a 15MW solar development in the New Forest in southern England.
The £8.5m solar farm proposal will be located on land close to Walkford Farm on the border of Bransgore and New Milton in Hampshire.
The 15MW site will not only contribute to the UK’s net zero ambitions by combatting climate change, but it will also create jobs, provide a diversified income stream to a local farm business and generate £2.3m in business rates over its lifetime.
Additional planting of species-rich grass, wildflowers and new hedgerows around the site will also significantly benefit the environment by increasing the area’s net biodiversity by as much as 122%.
Infrabee will produce and supply renewable energy solutions through a series of solar and battery sites across both the UK and Europe.
There are 25 sites planned across the UK which are either under development or ready to build, with five expected to connect over the next 18 months and the rest due to be energised over the next four years.
Two of these sites – at Costock and Burton Top – have recently qualified under auction round six of the Government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme which offers green energy producers long-term revenue protection.
Costock in Nottinghamshire (66MW) and Burton Top in South Stainley, just north of Harrogate (10MW), were successful in the auction process with a strike price of £50.07/MW.
Infrabee is a joint venture between real estate specialists Boultbee Brooks and low-carbon infrastructure development outfit Infraland.
Infrabee Director Henry Brown said: “We are delighted that the various projects we have embarked on are beginning to show the fruits of our and the wider team’s labour. This is a truly exciting double win for the team.
“The clean energy from the New Forest solar farm would result in a reduction in carbon emissions equivalent to taking about 2140 petrol cars off the road for 40 years.”