Plans have been submitted to expand the capacity of a Carlisle solar farm by more than 350 per cent.
Kingmoor Park Properties have this week submitted plans to expand the size of their existing solar farm, increasing their yield by more than 350 per cent.
If approved, the new plans could mean that up to three quarters of the business park’s energy is generated on site by more than 12,000 solar panels sat on 12 acres of land.
The new panels would be situated on farmland next to the existing site and therefore not hinder any future development plans whilst allowing the livestock to continue grazing, Kingmoor Park Properties said.
In 2020 Kingmoor Park switched on their first solar farm which has already reduced the need to rely on non-renewable sources by 20 per cent. Data also suggests that the business park has been entirely self-sufficient on several occasions.
The original solar site is providing 877,000kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity per annum which is equivalent of up to 20 per cent of Kingmoor Park’s energy needs.
With the addition of the new solar site the amount of energy produced is set to increase to more than 3,000,000 Kwh which would mean up to 75 per cent of the business park’s energy used would be produced on site.
Neil McIntyre, Kingmoor Park’s managing director said: “We are delighted to share news of the plans to expand our solar provision. As a team we are committed to ensuring that all of our energy comes from 100 per cent renewable sources to safeguard any future developments and reduce our carbon footprint.
“There is ample data from the existing solar farm which shows we have substantially reduced the need to rely on power from the national grid and have already saved 600 tonnes of co2. We are also working behind the scenes on a new green initiative which we are looking forward to launching in the summer.”
If planning is successful, the second phase will again be managed and installed by Solar Maintenance Services. The business who are based on Kingmoor Park look after about 50 megawatts of solar throughout the UK made up of other solar fields and some residential systems.
James McLinden, managing director of Solar Maintenance commented: “The need to reduce carbon emissions and take control of their own energy production, has long been the aim for Neil and his team at Kingmoor Park.
“I am delighted that phase one of the long-term plan has been such a success and is well on track to exceed expectations, of both energy generation and carbon reduction. We are now entering the next phase of the plan, which will be a big step towards Kingmoor Park achieving their carbon neutral target.”
