RES has submitted a planning application for its 50MW Chimmens solar farm, located on land between Horton Kirby and Fawkham, Sevenoaks, in the UK.
The plans were submitted following a period where RES invited feedback from the local community, which included a public exhibition held on the 10 July in Fawkham, on the design of the proposed solar farm.
The feedback received from the community as well as input from the technical and environmental site assessments resulted in several changes that have enhanced the final design.
The changes made by RES includes new native woodland planting on the northern boundary, and a change to the inverter and energy storage locations to use existing mature hedgerows as immediate screening.
Additionally, RES has said it has achieved increased buffers from residential properties to the northwest of the site and has included over 35 acres of habitat creation for Skylark.
Overall, RES predicts that there will be a biodiversity net gain of 45% in habitat areas and a 39% net gain in hedgerow habitats, as a result of the proposed development.
Pauric McCloskey, Development Project Manager at RES, commented: “We’re pleased to have worked with the local community in Horton Kirby and Fawkham to listen to their feedback, reflect on the changes we could make and then incorporate these into the plans that we have now submitted.
“Building new solar farms like Chimmens is absolutely essential to helping tackle climate change, but more than that, we need more projects like this because they generate cheap electricity, create a more secure supply of energy for Britian and support skilled jobs in the green economy.”