Barrow: Plans for £3m solar farm to power 730 homes approved

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Plans to build a £2.7m solar farm which could provide electricity for about 730 homes a year have been approved.

The 2MW solar farm will be built at Sandscale Park in Barrow on land currently used to graze sheep.

Westmorland and Furness Council's cabinet approved the scheme and awarded the building contract to Vital Energi.

The council said the farm would produce green energy and save 607 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

This is equivalent to planting 700,000 trees and would provide enough electricity to power the council's five leisure centres or 730 homes per year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Peter Thornton, Lib Dem councillor for Kendal Strickland and Fell and the cabinet member for highways and assets, said the site was surplus council land that had "potential for income regeneration."

The development also includes plans to manage grassland sheep grazing levels, retain bird nesting habitats and enhance woodland.

A report prepared for the meeting said: "The proposed solar farm could generate the equivalent of approximately 30% of our electricity consumed based on our benchmark consumption year of 2019/20."