PEOPLE living near the planned site of Oxfordshire’s first major solar energy farm have welcomed the idea.

A total of 27,000 panels could be used to generate power for the National Grid on a 38-acre site at Cornbury Park, near Charlbury, the home of Lord Rotherwick.

People are being invited to view the plans and have their say at an exhibition.

Liz Reason, town councillor and chairman of Sustainable Charlbury, said: “I think this would be a very good thing for the area and the more the community engages with it, the better.

“We have met with the developers and with Lord Rotherwick, and we are suggesting that a certain amount is made available for local people to buy as a co-operative group.

“A similar thing happened with a solar farm in Swindon, where shares were made available to residents.

“It would give everyone the chance to engage with their community’s efforts to create sustainable energy.”

The farm is being proposed and funded by Kent-based company Alectron Investments.

It has not yet applied for planning permission, but representatives will be on hand to discuss the proposals alongside detailed plans at the exhibition in Charlbury Memorial Hall, between 3pm and 7pm on Friday.

Any energy created would be fed into the National Grid, and then on to local homes and businesses, although it is not known at this stage how many homes could be powered by the farm.

Mrs Reason said: “A lot of developers are creating farms like this because they can then benefit from a Government scheme to encourage this kind of development.”

The ‘Feed In Tariff’ scheme, launched in April, guarantees owners of solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric turbines a guaranteed tax-free return for 25 years.

Jon Carpenter, chairman of the Charlbury Business Community group and owner of Evenlode Books, said: “As a resident and a local trader in the town, I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea.

“I haven’t seen any details about it yet, so I’ll be going to the exhibition on Friday.

“But in principle, I think this is exactly the kind of thing Cornbury Park should be using their land for.”

In its proposal documents, Alectron promised: “Unlike most other forms of development, when the solar farm is no longer used, all the equipment will be removed, and the land returned to its current form.”

It also said there would be very little noise or vibration, commonly associated with wind farms, and panels would be screened behind existing hedges.

Alectron added: “We see our solar farm proposal as a unique local opportunity to help take direct action to tackle climate change for the benefit of future generations.”

Lord and Lady Rotherwick were away yesterday and unavailable for comment.

rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk