The Lightsource solar farm at Lovedean has been installed and is now contributing energy to the grid, just in time to catch the summer sun!
The farm is only visible to most people from one road and currently the site is still a bit of a building site since the plants, hedgerows and grass need to grow back. The Lightsource application included the planting of additional trees and hedgerows around the site. As can be seen from the photo, the solar panels do not appear above the skyline/horizon and there was little reflection whilst I was there.
I couldn't hear any noise from the panels, inverters and transformers whilst visiting the site, just a lot of noisy birds and two workmen chatting, the usual rural sounds.
The scene contrasts greatly with all the misinformed fuss created around the application for a much larger solar farm at Newlands, located between Fareham and Gosport. Ib Vogt withdrew their application for the Newlands farm after Fareham council officers raised two specific issues against the application. It is expected that Ib Vogt will be resubmitting their application in the near future, addressing the officers concerns.
The Lovedean project has a 4.5MW capacity, with an approximate capacity factor of about 10% (my assumption), this produces about 4000 MWh per year on average, which equates to enough to supply 1200 homes (that have gas heating) with electricity. This reduces the need for coal fired power stations and hence reduces CO2 emissions.
