Work starts on 70,000-panel solar farm near Holsworthy

Work has started on a 164-acre solar farm which will include almost 70,000 panels.

Company Ripple Energy said the site in Devon was expected to generate enough electricity to power about 14,000 homes for up to 40 years.

The controversial development saw John Nettles, the star of TV's Bergerac and Midsomer Murders, spearhead a campaign against the solar farm near his property in Pyworthy, near Holsworthy.

The solar farm was passed by five votes to four by Torridge District Council's Planning Committee in 2021. The government said: "Solar is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower."

"We’re going to be completely surrounded," said Mark Marriott, who runs a holiday cottage business from his property and has a direct view of the solar farm.

"The answer is to put solar on existing buildings, new buildings, car parks," he said.

"You don’t need to destroy agriculture to be green or renewable."

Ripple Energy has described the project - which is being run as a co-operative society - as the "UK’s first solar park where members share ownership as well as the energy".

Sixty-eight people living within a 20 mile (32km) radius of the site are among the almost 10,000 people across Britain that have invested in the project.

"This enables people to be part of this amazing energy transition the UK is going through," said Ripple Energy CEO Sarah Merrick.

"Not only can they feel really proud that they are making a difference to climate change, they will also get savings off their electricity bills."

"This is not the first solar farm in Pyworthy, it’s one of several." said Steve Crowther from Devon CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England).

Mr Crowther added: "It’s a beautiful rural area and we think by the end of this there is going to be one acre of solar per house in Pyworthy."

More than 200 people living in the area and two parish councils objected to the development.

Ripple Energy said the project was expected to be operational by spring 2025.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: "Solar is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. and the energy secretary has consented nearly 2GW of nationally significant solar since July.

"Our planning policies guide solar developments away from using the best and most versatile agricultural land.

"In fact, even in the most ambitious scenarios, solar would still occupy less than 1% of the UK’s agricultural land.

"Each development proposal will continue to be subject to thorough scrutiny, which means our plans to boost solar power and energy security do not risk the UK’s food security."

As part of what it is describing as a "solar rooftop revolution", the government said it was also taking measures that would encourage builders and homeowners to invest in solar power, so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills and help tackle climate change.

Follow BBC Devon on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].