LET there be light as Grimsby switches on to the country's first solar park built in the heart of a town.
The owners of the former Macaulay Lane landfill site have plugged into the idea of making it a solar energy park with 20,000 solar panels and the power to supply nearly 1,500 homes a year.
The panels will be aligned over 30 acres, which are currently having thousands of tonnes of soil laid on top to seal in the contaminants from the former tip.
Planning permission is already in place for 250 new homes on the western side of the site.
A large country park extending more than 17 acres is also earmarked for the former tip site.
The remediation work to cap the tip with 300,000 tonnes of soil is due to be completed in October.
That is a year after the first of 30,000 lorry journeys rumbled through the West Marsh.
Now site owners Millennium Park (Grimsby), with support from property consultant Carter Jonas's energy and planning teams, hope to transform the site into a source of green energy.
They will host a public consultation event at Grimsby Auditorium to let residents have their say.
If planning consent is granted, the site has potential to generate five megawatts of renewable energy a year – enough to power 1,426 homes.
A planning application for the solar farm is expected to be submitted later this summer, with a view to having the scheme developed and commissioned by spring next year.
Graham Corser, of Millennium Park (Grimsby), said: "The country park will be a great addition to Grimsby, and we now aim to turn the remainder of the site into a solar farm to give clean and green energy back to the community, and make this a multi-use and sustainable development."
Kate Broadbank, a senior planner at Carter Jonas, said: "Solar farms are a simple and proven technology providing safe, renewable energy whilst having a minimal impact upon the local landscape – no emissions, noise, pollution or bi-products.
"They are relatively straight forward to construct and the perfect use for a former landfill site."
To understand the power created, a kettle uses 169 kilowatt hours per year.
With the solar park in Grimsby creating 5MW producing 4,565,000 kW hrs per year, that equates to 27,011 kettles in a year based on 0.11kW hrs to heat one litre of water.
Or, it's enough to power 38,686 washing machines per year.
If the scheme gets the go-ahead, special fixings will be used to ensure the protective layer covering the landfill is not disturbed.
The country park will form the eastern part of the site with the remaining area due to be grassed over by the autumn. Planning consent to build up to 250 homes was granted last year on an adjacent piece of land and a residential developer is now working up detailed plans.
Vice-chairman of Friends Of The Freshney, Roy Laughton, said: "This is about as good as we are going to get. It is not going to cause any trouble and we won't have any problems with pylons.
"It is producing power and green power which is good.
"This has been a long time coming and this maybe the answer."
Oxford, Derby and Rochdale have similar schemes but are on the edge of town or on industrial estates.
Details of the proposal will be on show at an exhibition being held on Tuesday, July 22, at the Grimsby Auditorium, between 3pm and 7pm. Representatives will also be on hand to answer any questions.
