Possible Solar Farm Near Poppleton
At its last meeting, the councillors of Nether Poppleton Parish Council were given a presentation by AMPYR about its intention to submit a planning application next year for a Solar Farm in farm fields to the northwest of the village. This was just a provider by the company for information about a possible significant development, there are no decisions or consultations currently open.
AMPYR said that in looking at York it had considered a 4km radius area of interest and was particularly interested in being near the Poppleton substation. It was aware that the site it was looking at was Greenbelt and that it would therefore have to argue that there were very special circumstances but it felt the two areas of fields near Poppleton it had in mind worked well given a number of factors.
The proposal is to utilise 124 acres of land which will see 32.6 MW of solar generation and facilitate 10MW of battery storage. The sites are intended to have a lifespan of 30-40 years with 30 being the expected duration time of the panels but they felt they often lasted longer. It expects the plan would generate energy equivalent to 10,380 homes each year and says it would decarbonise York by 215,000 tonnes over 30 years and well as improving energy security.
AMPYR has so far done initial site assessment and a grid connection application and some modelling, as well as worked with the landowners. It is speaking to City of York Council about whether an Environmental Impact Assessment will be necessary and preparing its plans.
If and when plans are submitted they will be considered by City of York Council staff and ultimately one of its Planning Committees. As part of the process Nether Poppleton Parish Council is a statutory consultee and will therefore consider any application at its usual monthly public meeting.
