London-based Island Green Power seek to build the scheme across five sites, using 1066 hectares (ha) of farmland to generate 500mw of power, enough to power up to 115,000 homes.
If approved, it would be about ten times the size of approved solar farms west of York.
It would also be the second largest in the county after Boom Power’s proposed 1,277ha East Yorkshire Solar Farm, northwest of Howden, which would feed into Drax.
Known as Light Valley Solar, the Green Island Power project is proposed in areas between Monk Fryston, Hambleton and Escrick.
It would include solar panels and a battery energy storage system (BESS), with power supplied to the National Grid’s existing Monk Fryston substation using underground electricity cables.
So large is the scheme, Light Valley Solar is classed as a Nationally Significant Project. This means it must apply for a Development Consent Order from central government, with the Secretary of State deciding on planning approval.
RECOMMENDED READING:
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- Solar farm near Hessay and Rufforth outside York get go ahead
- Planners back Ampyr Solar Europe scheme at Poppleton
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