A solar farm and battery storage facility could be built in Fife if a £50 million project is given the go-ahead.
The site at Glenniston Farm near Lochgelly is a joint venture between renewable energy developer Locogen and Renewco Power.
The proposed development will have a capacity of 39MW solar generation with embedded 10MW battery storage.
Plans for £50m Fife project
If it gets the go-ahead, it will have the potential to generate an estimated 52.3GWh of green energy per year. That is the equivalent to the annual demand of about 18,000 UK homes.
This equates to approximately 22,590 tonnes of annual CO2 savings.
In addition to the £50m investment, the proposals include the offering of an annual community benefit of £600/MW of solar generation capacity,
That equates to around £23,400 per year for the lifetime of the project.
The firms behind the plans also intend to develop the community benefit package so it best meets the needs of the local community.
Information boards on the project’s website show work is expected to begin in 2025, pending planning permission. Construction will take about a year to complete.
A range of work has already been carried out, including historic environment and transport impact studies and an agricultural land classification survey.
Public to have say on Fife solar farm plans
A public exhibition event will take place at Auchtertool Village Hall between 3pm and 7pm on August 17.
It follows a similar event last July, from which the developers have updated the proposals.
Stuart Hamilton at Locogen said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who attended our previous event and submitted comments.
“It was incredibly valuable to meet the local community and hear first-hand feedback on our proposals.”
Mr Hamilton said those working on the project are focused on a “collaborative approach with local stakeholders”.
Locals urged to attend exhibition
He encouraged interested parties to attend the upcoming consultation event.
He said: “We are looking forward to receiving additional feedback on our updated Glenniston proposals, as well as on the management and distribution of our community benefit offer.”
Those views were echoed by Clara Thompson, senior developer at Renewco Power.
She added: “We would strongly encourage all those with an interest in the proposals to come along on August 17.
“The involvement of the local community remains a priority.
“We look forward to having further discussions regarding the proposals over the coming weeks.”
