Solar farm development approved by Formartine councillors
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Councillors have approved plans to build a solar farm on land at Kincraig near Foveran.
The proposal was lodged with Aberdeenshire Council by applicant Renewable Connections Developments.
It was assessed by the Formartine area committee during its meeting on Tuesday.
The local authority's planning department recommended a delegated grant subject to conditions, which the councillors agreed with.
In the report that went before the area committee, authored by senior planner Lindsey Geddes, it outlined: "Full planning permission is sought for the erection of a solar farm development (maximum capacity 21MW) and battery energy storage system and associated works on land at Kincraig.
"The site lies on the north side of the C2C public road and is located approximately 1km to the west of the settlement of Foveran and 4km east of Udny Station.
"The site is bound in all directions by agricultural land comprising scattered residential properties and existing farmsteads.
"The site covers a total of 88 acres (35.6HA). It was the subject of a Woodland Grant from Scottish Forestry and is understood to have been planted out in the year 2000 with mainly poplar trees.
"The tree report that accompanies the application indicates that many of the plantings have since failed due to a number of factors. The proposal is therefore to remove the remaining woodland and install the proposed development.
"The nearest dwellings to the site comprise Mill of Fiddes Cottage which lies between the site and public road along the southern site boundary, Mill of Fiddes lies 78m to the south, Kincraig Farm lies 780m to the east and a group of three dwellings at Kinknockie are located 360m to the northwest."
The development will comprise of several elements, which includes:
- Ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels comprising arrays of traditional or bi- facial ground mounted solar panels on galvanised steel and anodised aluminium frames and with a gross electrical output of up to 21 MW.
- The panels will be of maximum height 2.8m and minimum height 0.5m and will be dark blue, grey or black in colour and would typically be sited 3.2m apart.
- Eighteen battery storage units formed of standard 12m containers with dimensions 12m (l) x 3m (w) x 4m (h), spaced at 3m apart.
- Nine inverter units on concrete plinth. The units have dimensions of 6.1m (l) x 2.4m (w) x 2.9m (h) that would convert the electricity from DC to AC and these also house transformers that will convert the low voltage output from the converters to high voltage suitable for export to the local distribution network.
- A switchgear building on concrete plinth located close to the site entrance at 10m (l) x 4m (w) x 3m (h).
- A substation at 6m (l) x 8m (w) x 4.1m (h) on concrete plinth which will be sited outside the proposed compound fencing to the south of the site.
There will also be the formation of internal access tracks; landscaping; temporary site construction compound and associated car park; CCTV cameras; and fencing. It will have an operational lifespan of 40 years.
The applicant has yet to make a final decision on whether the solar farm will be a fixed panel or tracker panel design.
The report added: "By way of context, the proposed solar farm has a generation capacity of 21MW which is enough to power approximately 6000 homes per year, with CO2 emissions saving of over 9500 tonnes per year from fossil fuel sources."
It concluded that the application complied with the relevant planning policies and any departures were considered acceptable, which lead to the recommendation of a delegated grant.
The local authority received no objections or representations of support for the application. Foveran Community Council backed the application advising that the development would be of benefit to the environment by way of producing power without the use of natural oil or gas and would be less intrusive than wind turbines.
During the area committee meeting Councillor Isobel Davidson motioned to approve the delegated grant with additional conditions. She said: "This is a really interesting project. I welcome initiatives which will improve our sustainability.
"I have had interest in solar farms in the past and I'm pleased to see experimental methods being carried out on this site.
"All in all, with some enhanced conditions, I would be happy with this proposal."
The conditions she moved to add were to monitor biodiversity at the site every five years throughout the lifetime of the project and ensure a sustainable solution is used for the temporary perimeter fencing.
She was seconded by Councillor Louise McAllister who said: "This is a really exciting development and as we look to the future for more sustainable means of producing electricity and power, it's got to be welcomed from that perspective alone.
"I appreciate Councillor Davidson's proposals and I agree with them entirely. It is very important that those conditions are attached.
"On balance and with those conditions applied that have been outlined, I would be happy to go forward with this development."
Fellow ward members Councillor Gillian Owen and Councillor John Crawley also supported the application, as did the area committee and the application was approved.
