Beenham

Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage Facility

Providing Clean, Green Energy for West Berkshire

Grundon is proposing to develop a solar farm on land north-east of Beenham Industrial Area, Beenham, Berkshire, RG7 5PY. Grundon has submitted a planning application to West Berkshire Council and the application has now been validated under the following reference: 24/01899/FULMAJ. The planning application can be accessed here.

The solar farm would have an approximate capacity of 2 MW. The proposed development would create enough renewable energy to meet the annual electricity demands of 2,813 homes while also offsetting 2,211 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent of taking around 740 fossil-fuel cars off the road.

Where is the proposed solar farm?

The project is situated on land north-east of Beenham Industrial Area, Beenham, Berkshire, RG7 5PY. The site extends to approximately 22.1 hectares and will be located in several fields which consists of vacant land and former landfill restored to grassland with integrated landfill gas and leachate management infrastructure.

In addition to having solar panels on the site, the proposal includes a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The proposal also includes biodiversity and landscape enhancement measures, such as new hedgerow planting and gapping up of existing hedgerows. These elements also contribute to the environmental enhancement of a former landfill site by improving ecological value and visual quality.

Access to the site (both during construction and operation) will be from an existing industrial road (Pips Way) off a roundabout on the A4 (Bath Road).

Benefits of the Solar Farm

  • The solar farm will assist West Berkshire achieve their 2020-2030 Environment Strategy and target of carbon neutrality by 2030.

  • The solar farm will support local businesses via private wire therefore helping these local employers to be sustainable and protecting employment opportunities.

  • The solar farm will allow Grundon and local businesses to transition their fleets to electric thereby reducing emissions thereby reducing emissions and improving air quality. 

  • No Public Rights of Way will be shut as part of the proposal.

  • The proposed solar farm will be funded by investment from Grundon to meet its own energy demands with any surplus being fed back to the National Grid. The project does not require Government subsidies to meet it’s own energy.

  • As a local business, Grundon is committed to using local suppliers during construction and operation to support the community.

  • This is a temporary development.

  • The proposed solar farm will make effective use of Grade 4 (unproductive) land.

  • The solar farm will provide a secure energy supply for local businesses from a local renewable energy supply.

  • Ecological enhancements will be implemented on the site leading to a biodiversity net gain.

We held a public consultation event where residents met the team and discussed the scheme. The event took place on Wednesday 19th July at Victory Hall, Picklepythe Lane, Beenham, Reading, RG7 5NN (2pm-7pm)

Public Consultation Event

Key Statistics

2,813

Homes powered every year

2,211

tonnes of CO2 offset every year

6-9

months estimated construction period

22.1

acres of land

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The proposed solar farm will generate renewable electricity integral to the UK Government’s overarching policy to provide significant reductions in national greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security.

    The current energy crisis can only be sustainably resolved by a national effort to create additional decentralised, renewable energy generation capacity which is exactly why Grundon is investing in developments such as this.

    The Government’s Energy Security Strategy (2022) proposed a five-fold increase in solar by 2035. Beenham Solar Farm will help the UK reach this target and create a greener, cleaner energy future for West Berkshire.

    We are committing long-term funding to bring forward renewable energy generation and low carbon programmes which we believe will help deliver a more sustainable future.

  • There is an existing demand for energy at this site which the solar farm would meet and there is a point of connection within the site which can be utilised. The development will connect to the grid at Beenham substation. While the site is in the AONB, it is located on the margins in a developed industrial and commercial area, along the A4 Bath Road.

  • The solar farm is a temporary development and will not change the land classification. Once the solar farm is no longer in operation it will be decommissioned and the land will return to its previous agricultural usage.

  • No. Solar panels have no moving parts and emit no sound. Inverters and transformers can emit very low- level sound, but these are sited away from houses and cannot be heard from more than a few metres away.

  • The site will be located on a restored landfill and is therefore not appropriate for food production.

    The UK Food Security Report (2021) found that “the biggest medium to long-term risk to the UK’s domestic food production comes from climate change and other environmental pressures like soil degradation, water quality and biodiversity”.

  • No evidence has been found to indicate that wildlife is negatively impacted by solar farms. Rather, a 2023 report (Solar Habitat: Ecological trends on solar farms in the UK) found that solar farms are in fact wildlife havens.

    The UK is currently witnessing a decline of butterflies, bees and farmland bird. Solar farms, if correctly managed, counteract this trend.

    We are committed to implementing ecological enhancement measures to result in a biodiversity net gain on the land for the proposed site.

    Measures will include the creation of new habitats for wildlife, tree planting, planting of new hedgerows and the sowing of wildflowers.

  • The farm will support local businesses via private wire therefore helping these local employers to be sustainable and protecting employment opportunities.

    The solar farm will allow Grundon and local businesses to transition their fleets to electric thereby reducing emissions and improving air quality.

    Grundon intends to conduct extensive local community engagement going forward.

    We are committed to significant net biodiversity gain at Beenham Solar Farm through the creation of new habitats to support local wildlife.

  • On average it takes 6-9 months to build a solar farm of this size.

In 2019, the UK became the first country in the world to declare a Climate Emergency. It has subsequently committed to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. In October 2021, the UK Government set out its Net Zero commitments and obligations in the 'Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener'. Amongst a number of initiatives, it confirms that by 2035 all our electricity will need to come from low carbon sources.

Net Zero

Biodiversity

We are committed to implementing ecological enhancement measures to result in a biodiversity net gain on the land for the proposed site.

Measures will include the creation of new habitats for wildlife, planting trees, the planting of new hedgerows and the sowing of wildflowers.

Support for renewable energy was strengthened in July 2019 when a Climate Emergency was declared by West Berkshire Council. Since then, West Berkshire Council set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030. To reach on this target West Berkshire Council adopted the 2020-2030 Environment Strategy.

The Environment Strategy acknowledges the Council’s potential for hosting renewable energy developments and aims to increase the deployment of renewable energy projects in the district. 

Climate Emergency

Project Timeline

October 2023

Submit Planning Application

December 2023

Planning Decision

July 2023

Pre-Submission Consultation

September 2023

Finalise Proposed Design

Early 2025

Operational

About

Grundon is proud to be the UK’s largest family-owned supplier of integrated waste management and environmental services. We are an established local business founded in 1929. Throughout the years we have
a distinctive approach to maintain a leading position within the waste industry. This approach is underpinned by our commitment to quality of service, innovation and technical progress, together with a genuine and demonstrable concern for the environment.

We are an industry leader in decarbonisation and operate one of the greenest waste collection fleets in the UK, including both electric andhydrogen/diesel dual-fuel vehicles. We are a partner in the successful development of a hydrogen production facility in Gloucestershire and hold a majority stake in O.C.O Technology – an award-winning world leader in carbon capture.

We aim to deliver high quality projects that generate significant renewable energy, have low visual impact, and enhance biodiversity and land management.

Contact

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Any information provided will only be used for the purpose of the planning application to the Local Planning Authority and will not be disclosed with any third parties.