Sir – In making the case for a large-scale solar power plant in the middle of the Cotswolds AONB, Liz Leffman and Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Letters, April 24) omit several important points.
In the first place, they fail to indicate the enormous size of the proposed plant — over half-a-mile long and the size of 20 football pitches. A development of this size would have a huge impact on the rural character of the AONB, and also would be incompatible with the planning policy of the West Oxfordshire District Council only to allow renewable energy proposals in the AONB which are ‘small in scale’.
Further, the WODC policy states that proposals will only be acceptable where it can be shown that no alternative sites exist. The planning proposal which has been submitted makes no attempt to meet this requirement.
The policy also requires that proposals have to be shown to be in the public or national interest.
Despite the impression given by supporters of this proposal that it will reduce carbon emissions, the application provides no evidence about this. There is no calculation of the expected carbon savings. There is no calculation of the significant offsets against the carbon savings from the carbon cost of manufacturing, installing and maintaining the plant, and of running the necessary duplicate conventional power plants.
And there is no consideration of the impact of the higher costs of solar energy, particularly on the poorest in our society.
So the proposal also fails to meet the WODC requirement for evidence that it is in the public or national interest.
Without doubt we need a green agenda for our economy. However this proposal is neither a sensible nor a fair way of pursuing such an agenda, and fails to meet the planning authority’s requirements.
Mark Hofman, Charlbury