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A solar farm is set to have its operational life extended for an extra 15 years.
Hill Farm Solar Park, which is on a 19 hectare site at Penrhiwarwydd Farm, Mynyddislwyn, is operated by Lightsource BP.
Planning permission was granted for the farm and its infrastructure in November 2014, with a condition that it operated for 25 years and six months.
After that time, all solar farm infrastructure must be removed and the land returned to its agricultural state.
However, an application to extend this has been approved by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee.
Extending the site’s operational life by additional 15 years had been recommended by council officers.
A letter submitted alongside the application explained that solar installations can continue to operate efficiently for “many years beyond the end of their performance warranty”, which typically guarantees a minimum level of performance for about 30 years.
It added that extending its use would create a number of benefits, including the reuse of an existing renewable energy resource which would help meet local and national renewable energy targets.
Additionally, the solar panels would export up to 8.5MW per annum, and result in continued management of biodiversity enhancements.
The application does not propose any physical changes to the design, layout or scale of the farm, and the condition to reinstate to site to its original state at the end of its operational life would be retained.
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