Solar Farm Plan Near Bungay Revealed

Plans for a huge solar farm near Bungay have been put forward.

The former Flixton airfield has been earmarked for the proposed 27 megawatt solar farm - and an application is set to be put forward next month.

Pathfinder Clean Energy who are behind the project say that construction traffic will access the site from the A143, along the B1062 from Homersfield, through Flixton and along Abbey Road.

Details of the renewables site were unveiled at a public hearing held at Flixton Village Hall on Wednesday night - 16th April.

The solar farm would be situated off Abbey Road near Flixton. Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE) is the organisation behind the proposal. They expect to submit a planning application by the end of May. A planning decision is anticipated around the end of 2025 and PACE hope that the plant will be operational by2030.

The solar farm, which will include battery storage with a capacity of 10MW, is expected to generate enough electricity to power 12,000 homes. This is expected to save 8,738 tonnes of CO2 compared with power generated by burning fossil fuels.

The expected life of the solar farm is 40 years. At the end of its life, the farm will be fully decommissioned and returned to its previous use. Various ecological measures are planned, to mitigate the impact of the solar farm on the environment. These include the planting of new meadows around the panels themselves, around the borders of the solar farm and in a field to the north-west of the solar farm, which will also provide a haven for skylarks and other birds. New woodland will be planted. Bird and bat boxes will be provided for various species. It was pointed out that the environmental impact of a solar farm is lower than intensive farming, partly due to the lack of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. Over time, biodiversity should improve in the area.

The connection to the grid is expected to be via an underground cable, which is likely to run alongside roads to Ilketshall St Margaret. The exact the location of the connection has not been confirmed. While the plant is expected to generate little noise once operational, construction traffic will operate during weekdays and on Saturday mornings. Some concern was raised due to earlier experiences where construction was active seven days per week, however a PACE representative stated that if their contractors operate outside the stated hours, locals should report this to PACE, who will intervene.

Construction traffic will access the site from the A143, along the B1062 from Homersfield, through Flixton and along Abbey Road. PACE believes this route will be the least disruptive, due to the low volume of traffic on Abbey Road. Once operational, they expect only a single van to visit around once a week, for maintenance purposes.

PACE has established a Community Benefit Fund and is soliciting residents' ideas regarding how this could be best put to use. Options such as free EV chargers, improved local highways and ecological improvements have been suggested.

Questions can be submitted by email to PACE's PR consultancy at: feedback@alpacacommunications.com.