A third in-person event is being held next week for residents to find out about a proposed new renewable energy park, which could power more than 190,000 homes with clean electricity.
The early (non-statutory) consultation for Beacon Fen Energy Park launched on Monday 15th May 2023, with scores of people attending a webinar and two in-person events in Heckington and Helpringham in May.
The third and last event in this round of consultation is being held at Ruby Hunt Centre, in Church Street, Donington, on Friday, June 9th from 2pm to 7pm with members of the team available to answer questions.
A second webinar on the project is also being held online from 6.30pm on Wednesday June 14th. People can register for the webinar via https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIlf-2hpzIuGdzKxkZOHj3f_i80Z2m9y00t or by emailing info@beaconfenenergypark.co.uk.
James Hartley-Bond, Director at Low Carbon, said: “We have already had excellent conversations with local communities about our proposals. If you haven’t yet had the chance to talk to the team or ask questions don’t miss our final webinar or in-person event of this stage of consultation.”
The proposed Beacon Fen Energy Park will be made up of solar PV, co-located with energy storage, and is proposed for land east of Sleaford. Spread across two sites, Beacon Fen North is north of the village of Heckington while Beacon Fen South is south of Helpringham.
Renewable energy company Low Carbon has confirmed that, if given permission, Beacon Fen Energy Park would generate an estimated 600MW of electricity a year while also avoiding up to 120,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Network infrastructure will also need to be built as part of the project to export the electricity generated by the energy park into the grid, which under current plans will be via an existing connection point at the Bicker Fen substation.
The early (non-statutory) consultation will close at 11.59pm on Sunday, June 18th. Anyone wishing to have their say on the proposals can do so by visiting www.beaconfenenergypark.co.uk/consultation. A further round of consultation will be held later in the year.
The amount of electricity Beacon Fen Energy Park could generate exceeds 50MW and is therefore classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This requires Beacon Fen Energy Park to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate.
The development process for the project through to DCO submission and then examination is expected to take between two and three years. Subject to achieving consent, construction would start no earlier than 2026.
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For more information, please email lowcarbon@pierweare.com
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