South Lakeland primed for 300-acre solar farm

Novus Renewable Services is eyeing up a plot off Riddings Lane in Gleaston to create the 49.9MW facility, able to provide electricity for more than 12,400 homes.

Stephenson Halliday has submitted a screening request to Westmorland and Furness Council on behalf of the renewable energy specialist. Novus wants to transform the South Lakeland site to use natural resurfaces to create green, renewable energy.

Stretching to the size of 145 football fields, the solar farm would feature a 132kV substation, transformers, converters, and a 20MW energy storage unit.

Multiple energy storage units would store electricity generated by the solar array, as well as excess energy in the National Grid. These units would then act as a grid balancing infrastructure to enable the use of renewable energy at times of peak electricity demand.

The solar farm would generate enough energy to power more than 24% of all the households in South Lakeland while offsetting more than 10,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, according to the screening request letter.

It is estimated that the development would take six months to build and have a lifespan of 40 years, after which the land would be returned to its former use.

To learn more about the scheme, search for application number SE/2023/0005 on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.