Solar farm plans unveiled for Oving

Plans for a solar farm in the village of Oving are to be discussed at a public exhibition.

Solar energy specialists Vogt Solar have just submitted plans to Chichester District Council for the site at Woodhorn Farm.

The company, which has seven established solar farms in Germany, said the site was ideal for a solar farm because of good ‘sunlight intensity levels’.

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The 19.9 hectare site was flat and few buildings meant there would not be any concerns from overshadowing.

It would accommodate a 5MW peak solar farm, over 12.8 hectares while the remaining 5.1 hectares could still be used for growing crops.

Vogt said another reason for choosing the site was its good road access, which would be required during the installation and decommissioning phases.

Construction would last around 12 weeks and once in operation would be an unmanned site and if approved the farm would be directly connected to the Crockerhill substation.

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Equipment would be transported to the site entrance in Church Lane by lorries using the A27, Nyton Road and then e Oving Road and Woodhorn Lane.

In a presentation Vogt said the plans would have ‘minimal environmental constraints’ and that the site would remain in agricultural and/or ecological use for the lifetime of the solar farm.

Animals would still be able to graze around the solar panels and planting could be carried out to encourage biodiversity.

Panels are 1.6 metres by 1 metre in size and are mounted one to three metres above the ground and Vogt said the only noise from the farm would be from cooling fans which would only operate during the day.

The public exhibition will take place on March 23 from 4pm until 7pm at the Gribble Inn in Gribble Lane where residents will be able to find out more about what is planned for the site.