renewable energy
Rooftops and car parks can power the country to more than half its solar energy targets, finds new CPRE report
Friday 26 May 2023
More than half of the solar panels required to hit government net-zero targets could be fitted on rooftops and car parks, a new report for CPRE, the countryside charity, has found. The research, by the UCL Energy Institute, shows that decarbonising the grid requires far less land than previously feared. The government is advised to […] Read more >
Letter: solar farms and the wrecking or our landscape
Friday 2 July 2021
With the report that proposals for solar farms in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire have doubled over the past five months, this letter to the Saffron Walden Reporter from Richard Haynes, a member of both CPRE Essex and the Uttlesford Local Plan Community Forum, could scarcely be more pertinent. For more on the subject of solar […] Read more >
Solar farms: CPRE Essex policy statement
Saturday 10 April 2021
Solar farms: a thorny subject for so many. They are trumpeted by some as laudable examples of green, renewable energy provision, while others highlight their undoubted impact on the landscape. As the countryside charity, CPRE Essex has addressed both sides of the debate and put together its own policy statement on the matter. There can […] Read more >
… and plans for another solar farm
Wednesday 20 January 2021
The solar-farm proposals keep coming thick and fast! Consultation on a site of some 242 acres of farmland east of West Hanningfield ended last month and a planning application to Chelmsford City Council is expected soon. The Sandon Brook project is being developed by Low Carbon, which is reported to have stated that a full […] Read more >
Solar-farm application in to council
Monday 18 January 2021
A solar farm is being targeted for some 240 acres of farmland at Layer de la Haye. The company Low Carbon has applied to Colchester Borough Council for permission to develop the site, behind Waterworks Close and either side of Birch Road on the edge of the village. It would appear to have substantial experience […] Read more >