PLANS for part of a £3.1m solar energy farm in Deeside have been given the go-ahead.

Flintshire Council's planning committee approved the plans on Wednesday, which, pending no objections from Network Rail, will see the installation and operation of ground mounted solar panels and associated infrastructure on land at Crumps Yard on Dock Road in Connah’s Quay.

The site, along with another on a former landfill site in Flint, extends to approximately 3.2 hectares and will form a solar energy farm that, when completed, is expected to generate in excess of 3487MWh's of electricity each year for 40 years - as well as saving more than 800 tonnes of CO2.

It will see the construction and operation of the 1.6MW solar farm development and the associated infrastructure, including:

Solar PV modules mounted on to arrays with concrete plinths

2 x inverter/ transformer units

2 x battery storage containers

Onsite cabling

Fencing and security measures

Substation

ENGIE, the energy and regeneration specialist appointed by Flintshire County Council to develop the farm, is expected to start working on the facility in the coming weeks.

Cllr Chris Bithell said: "The proposal will help us achieve both Welsh Government and Flintshire County Council goals in developing energy from renewable sources and thereby reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions - so it ticks a lot of boxes.

"Flintshire Council gives it full backing to reducing carbon emissions and dealing with the climate change challenges, and this proposal will be a step in the right direction for what we hope to achieve in making Flintshire Council greener."

Cllr Billy Mullin added: "It's a major movement to address our carbon footprint and I have nothing but support for this scheme."

Earlier this month, Rhys Horan, strategic lead for the Welsh Government Energy Service, said: “These projects are excellent examples of a local authority developing renewable energy generation on brownfield land, making better use of their available assets.

"Flintshire County Council is leading by example in developing such sites in their continued drive to become a Green Council.”

Barry Tayburn, head of energy and innovation at ENGIE, said: “We're delighted to be supporting Flintshire Council in their ambitions to reduce carbon emissions.

"As an organisation, ENGIE is proud to be working with partners across the UK on the transition to a zero-carbon future. We have an excellent track record of installing renewable technologies, so it's great that we can bring that expertise to this project."

The solar farm will be close to roads, railway, and homes, but analysis has shown that no solar reflection from the proposed development towards the air traffic control tower is geometrically possible and no significant impact on approaching aircraft is predicted, nor to railway signals and trains.