A Cupar consultation event for an 155-acre solar farm showed the strength of feeling about the proposed development in the town.
Locals gathered at the Howe of Fife rugby club over four hours last Thursday as Balance Power Projects held the first of two consultations on the green energy site.
The 29.9MW solar farm would be similar in size to around 88 football pitches.
It is proposed to span several fields at Over Rankeilour.
And is located north of a quiet lane heading into the countryside known colloquially as St Mary’s Road.
One Cupar resident casting his eye over the consultation boards was Ross Ainslie.
The 71-year-old was raised in Cupar and returned to his hometown three years ago from Pitlessie.
He enjoys walking along St Mary’s Road and feels powerless in preventing the proposals from going ahead.
“The wee man’s voice is never heard”, says Ross.
“It’s big business and it doesn’t matter what we say.
“They are going to do it anyway.
“We can protest as much as we like, but it is still going to happen because big business takes precedence over local concerns.
“It’s a short-term solution to a long-term problem and they’re taking away good arable land and putting panels on it.”
Solar farm proposed along ‘only remaining country road out of Cupar’
The proposed development includes ground-mounted solar panels, transformers, switchgears and invertors.
A new access road heading northwards from St Mary’s Road will also be constructed, and fencing, security and lighting will be installed.
Balance Power says the solar farm will help power around 13,000 homes.
But other residents shared concerns with The Courier on Thursday.
“I just think it’s at the wrong site because it’s on the only remaining country road out of Cupar”, says one local, who wished not to be named.
“It is used by cyclists, walkers, runners and horses and it’s historically agricultural land.
“It is making me feel very anxious because we are quite far down the road already with it.
“We went through this around 20 years ago when one of the farmers was proposing a chicken farm. But we all objected and managed to stop it.
“It just seems very unfair because they’re doing it for the money and nothing else.”
Another resident is similarly unimpressed.
“Are there any benefits for Cupar?” he asks.
“There will be a 3.5-metre high fence just five metres from our house.
“We might be able to get the fence moved a little bit, but that’s it.”
Residents group ‘furious’ about Cupar solar farm plans
Several residents have also formed the Cupar Solar Farm Concerned Residents’ Group.Â
A spokesperson for the group showed The Courier photographs of how close the solar farm and its security fence will be to their home.
“It’s just unacceptable because here are 12 households that will be affected by the solar farm,” adds the spokesperson.
“People have been there for 36 years.
“I’m furious about the impact on the right to roam and the wildlife.
“We’ve got foxes, hares, badgers and bats around us. But they won’t be able to be in their usual habitat.
“It’s just a disaster and where’s the food going to come from if many of Scotland’s agricultural fields are covered in solar panels?
“I’m not particularly against solar power, but it’s just in the wrong place.”
How will the development impact the landscape?
Callum Murray, 22, lives near the proposed development site.
He is also the chairperson of the Mid East Fife branch of Reform UK.
In its 2024 election manifesto the party promised to scrap projects designed to hit net zero emissions by 2040.
“It’s going to completely destroy our beautiful surrounding farmland,” he says.
“Most of Cupar is opposed to this and there are rarely people in favour of these plans.
“I will be directly affected because I’ll see the development from my house.
“It’s on the government’s prime agricultural land and we should be trying to keep development to a minimum.
“Cupar is a farming town and it has always been a farming town.
“Most of Cupar is opposed to this and there are rarely people in favour of these plans.
“Our worry is that local people won’t actually listen because money is at the centre of this.”
Balance Power: ‘Feedback has been mixed, but solar power is a positive’
Balance Power Projects says it aims to advance the Scottish Government’s aim to reach net zero emissions by 2045 and that the project will help to lower electricity prices.
The St Helens-based energy developer is aiming to submit its initial planning application to Fife Council in Spring 2025.
This will be followed by a minimum four month statutory planning period and another consultation event at the same venue on January 16.
“(The feedback) received so far has been mixed”, says Ryan Macindoe, head of development at Balance Power.
“A lot of the comments we’ve received relate to its visuals and the impact it will have.”
“The biggest threat to wildlife and food production is man-made climate change caused by fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.
“And solar farms play a crucial role in combating this.”
Ryan explains that a cable route will connect the site to the Cupar substation.
“We will be digging a trench for a ground cable, which is quite minor activity,” he adds.
The proposals show a route heading southwards through the fields near Carslogie and an underground cable would be built under sections of the A91 and Drum Road.
Balance Power says it is consulting on community benefit funding with the local community.
It claims the solar farm will provide employment in engineering, project management, installation and operations roles.
Why has Balance Power chosen to build a solar farm on the outskirts of Cupar?
But why will it be located at Over Rankeilour?
“A renewable energy development needs a substation to hook into the grid,” explains Ryan.
“We look for connections and at legal, land, and environmental constraints.
“This site has been selected for its proximity to the grid and lack of constraints.
“The construction activities aren’t that intense and we are anticipating the construction period to be 12 months.
“In the planning application all of this will be stepped up as to how many trucks there will be and so on.
“Road safety is a massive consideration for us and when it’s built the actual vehicles that come to the site is very low (sic).
“It’s maintenance vehicles, maintaining the wildflower meadows and perimeter trees.”
Concerns about the impact the solar farm will have on farmland were raised frequently at the consultation event.
Scotland’s Soils map shows that the land earmarked for the solar farm is rated 2 and 3.1 on the scale, which are the second and third highest on its scale measuring crop growing capability.
“We are taking away a very small proportion of good quality agricultural land”, insists Ryan.
“You enter a fallow period when you put solar in, whereby the soils have time to get better.
“And when you improve soils you improve the amount of water that can be stored in soils.
“Between now and the 16th March 2025 we want to really define this to a point where we have a landscape plan and a biodiversity plan.
“And we will hopefully be constructing in July 2026.”
Conversation