Stargoose Solar Farm
The Childerley Estate in Cambridgeshire has been approved as the site of a new solar energy farm.
This location has been carefully chosen for its potential to deliver solar-powered electricity to the grid. The planned development will generate 60GWh of electricity per year – enough to power up to 14,200 homes. We are also planning to install batteries to store electricity and feed it back into the local energy network at times of high demand.
For details on our consultation around Stargoose Solar Farm, please see our Statement of Community Involvement.
Renewable energy – targets and benefits
In June 2019, the UK government set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Their aim: to set a world-leading target that will bring to an end the UK’s contribution to climate change.
South Cambridgeshire District Council declared a climate emergency in November 2019 and adopted its Zero Carbon Strategy and Action Plan in May 2021. The action plan lays out an “aspiration to deliver a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from the South Cambridgeshire area by 2030 relative to a 2018 baseline, reducing to net zero carbon by 2050 at the latest”.
The project will not only deliver climate change benefits, it will also deliver biodiversity and landscape enhancements, local jobs during the construction period a community benefit fund.
Location
Finding a suitable location for a solar energy project is a careful balancing act.
This proposal is located just north of the village of Childerley, in the district of South Cambridgeshire on farmland to the southeast of the A14. Surrounding it are mainly fields and farmsteads. This image shows the approximate location.
This site has been carefully selected as part of a detailed feasibility process which includes considering designated areas, land type and levels of solar energy. Local electricity grid connections have been analysed to identify where there is capacity to receive the amount of electricity being produced. A number of surveys have or are being carried out, such as ecology, landscape and flood risk among others to confirm that the land would be suitable for solar energy farm use.
Why Statkraft?
Statkraft is Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy and the leading developer in the European solar market. Having acquired solar pioneer Solarcentury in November 2020, our highly skilled development team operates across 21 countries with a 10GWp pipeline.
Our vision is a world that runs entirely on renewable energy. We believe that renewable energy can power every industry, every business, every community, every home. It can power progress. It can power possibilities. For us to meet growing energy demand, keep our planet’s temperature below breaking point, and close the gap for nearly one billion people in the world who still have no access to electricity, renewable energy can’t be part of the solution - it must be the solution.
When developing a project, Statkraft manage the whole process – from the early stages of community engagement, to submission of a planning application, to financing, construction and operation of the solar energy farm. We will engage with the neighbouring communities in advance of submitting any planning application, and we welcome community suggestions and views.
Estimated timeline
The project team
Gui Zandomeneghi
Principal Project Manager, Solar
Suzy Kerr
Community Liaison Manager
Further reading
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