Project Proposal
Location
The boundary shown on the proposed site map illustrates all the land that may form the Jubilee Energy Hub covering a total proposed land area of 543 hectares (1,342 acres).
Not all land within the boundary will be developed. Some will be set aside as buffer zones from the field edge to the nearest solar panels or equipment housings. Some areas will be set aside for environmental mitigation, including planting and creation of wildlife habitats. Existing public rights of way in these fields will be preserved, with spaces of at least ten metres (m) between the centre of the paths and the solar farm fences. Solar panels will be located a further five metres from the fence into the fields. Existing trees and hedgerows will be used to provide visual screening and maintain ecological habitats. This will be further improved by allowing hedgerows to grow taller and by planting new hedgerows, shrubs and trees.
The Energy Hub
The photovoltaic (PV) panels will either be statically mounted on table frames, facing due south or be mounted on tables that will tilt through the day from east to west as they track the sun. During the consultation process, we will refine our system design and confirm if they will be static or tracker panles.
If tracker, this means that the panels will always be in the most efficient position. At their maximum tilt (at sunrise and sunset), the panels will briefly be up to 3.5m high – although for most of the day they will be lower than this. The panels will lie flat overnight or in extreme weather, at a height of approximately 2.3m. There will be a space between each row of panels in the fields which will be sufficient to allow access for cleaning and maintenance. If the panels are static panels, then the tables will be configured so the maximum panel height will be 3.5m above the ground level.
Around 80 to 100 field stations will be distributed around the solar farm amongst the panels and at a distance of at least 250m from residential properties. These will contain electrical equipment such as inverters, switchgear and a transformer. They will typically be housed in shipping container style housings and will be painted green in keeping with the surrounding environment.
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) will be used at the solar farm to allow electricity to be stored and exported to the National Grid when demand is high. The batteries, housed within shipping container style housings, will be distributed throughout the solar farm, and located within the field stations as well as being contained within a main compound, near the proposed Natioanl Grid Substation.
The field stations will connect via underground interconnecting cables to the grid connection substation on the site. The equipment for these will be outside and securely fenced. The maximum height of the grid connection substation structures will be up to 6m, apart from any downtaking connections to the extisting overhead pylon line, although most equipment will be at a lower level than this. They will also contain a control building which will be approximately 20m long, 7m wide and 4m high. The grid connection substation’s exact specification will be addressed within a seperate Development Consent Order proposal, which will be brough forward by the National Grid.
Indicative Masterplan
The Zone Plan map is an indicative concept masterplan for the purposes of the statutory consultation. This concept masterplan is subject to change based on environmental assessment, design development and feedback received.
It shows the various forms of development and land use proposed within the development area. This includes araes where there will simply be solar panels and associated equipment; areas where we may seek to deploy battery storage facilities as well as solar panels; and areas where we simply plan to utilise the land for biodiversity offset planting and landscaping enhancements.
Click on the image to view the plan
Landscape
The vast majority of existing tree lines and hedgerows will remain and be improved. We will plant additional trees and hedgerows to further screen the solar farm from view. Deer-proof fencing will be erected around the solar PV areas at a height of up to 2.2m. There will be a minimum of a 5m buffer between the field boundary and the fence line.
Community Benefit
As part of the proposals, Starlight proposes to establish a project specific Community Benefit Scheme, which will seek to support community groups and benefit the local communities via a range of initiates. The details of this will be considered via community feedback through the consultation process, but the project aims to provide up to £7m of community benefit during its 41 year life cycle.
Construction
Construction and deliveries will be governed by a construction and transport management plan and agreed with the local authority prior to commencement. Work on Sundays, Bank Holidays or through the night will only be carried out in exceptional cases and with prior notice. For example, where we need to complete horizontal directional drilling in an uninterrupted task to install cable ducts. This will be necessary where the cables pass under the rivers, and the railway line. Other locations may be determined during the project’s design phase.
Environmental Impact Assessment
The Jubilee Energy Hub is classified as an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development. This requires us to assess the potential significant environmental impacts of our proposed development, as mandated by the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.
EIA is the iterative process in which the assessment of environmental impacts is carried out in parallel with the development design process. We will use EIA as a tool to identify the potential effects the Jubilee Energy Hub might have on the environment – the benefits as well as negative impacts.
The purpose of the EIA process is to make sure that where we identify any significant effects, we put in place measures to reduce any negative impacts, while also seeking to enhance positive effects.
Our initial work has identified a number environmental considerations which will inform the development of our detailed design for the Jubilee Energy Hub. A summary of these topics can be found here.
EIA is broken down into many topics that we need to assess. These include:
- Ecology and biodiversity
- Landscape and visual
- Cultural heritage
- Transport and access
- Soils and agriculture
- Hydrology flood risk and drainage
- Socio-economics, tourism and recreation
- Noise and vibration
- Climate change
- Air quality