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South Wales Argus
16-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Claim Ponthir solar farm threatens food production
Plans for placing four metre high solar panels to be mounted on the ground across 123-hectares around Ponthir, and stretching over three local authority boundaries, were unveiled in April. Peter Fox, Conservative Member of the Senedd for Monmouth claimed the development could impact food production. He said: 'Removing over 300 acres of farmland could affect our ability to produce food, at a time when our food security is paramount'. Applicants Bluestone Court Farm Ltd have stated although the land use permission would be changed some existing agricultural activities such as livestock grazing could continue over the 40 year period the farm is in use. After that the land could be returned to 'greenfield/agriculture'. Mr Fox said after being contacted by residents he raised concerns about the application in the Senedd with the cabinet secretary for energy of planning Rebecca Evans. Ms Evans said she couldn't comment 'on the merits or otherwise of individual projects' and noted as a development of national significance, which is being considered by Welsh planning body Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), government ministers could have to make a decision on whether it is approved or not. She told the Senedd planning policies outline the range of unacceptable adverse effects that could stop a proposed development from going ahead, and schemes should only be supported if it they won't cause unacceptable adverse impact on the environment or local amenity. The Labour minister said: 'I can't comment on the particular scheme this afternoon, it is helpful, I think, if I set out some of the policies that will be important in consideration of those proposals.' The 12 parcels of land are east of Ponthir and north of Caerleon and across the boundaries of Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport. Some parts of the proposed site are within the Torfaen and Newport special landscape areas while there are also numerous footpaths crossing the fields. A substation for the proposed plant would be located on land within the Welsh Water treatment plant near Ponthir and the solar farm could have capacity to generate 46 megawatts of electricity.
South Wales Argus
26-04-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Ponthir waste water solar farm plans under consideration
The 123.3 hectare site across 12 parcels of land would have solar panels on frames mounted on the ground with a capacity to generate 46 megawatts of electricity and as such a decision on whether to approve or reject the plan will fall to Welsh Government ministers. A substation for the proposed plant would be located on land within the Welsh Water treatment plant near Ponthir. The 12 parcels of land are east of Ponthir and north of Caerleon and across the boundaries of Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport. Some parts of the proposed site are within the Torfaen and Newport special landscape areas while there are also numerous footpaths crossing the fields. Applicants Bluestone Court Farm Ltd has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment screening request to the Welsh Government's planning body, Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, or PEDW. It will have to decide whether the detailed assessment is required but the applicants state they do not believe it is necessary due to the limited impact of the proposals, which they say can be managed through 'careful design and masterplanning', and that panels would be in place for 40 years after which the land could be returned to 'greenfield/agriculture'. The applicants also state although the land use permission would be changed some existing agricultural activities such as livestock grazing could continue over the period the farm is in use. The full planning application is, according to the applicants, likely to include technical reports including glint and glare, noise and landscape and visual impact assessments along with ecological, flooding and heritage reports. The Environmental Impact Assessment request states: 'We believe these supporting documents will provide the Welsh Ministers with all the necessary information concerning the effects of the proposed development, without the need for an EIA, so to enable them to make an informed decision concerning the proposals.' The application states there are three grade II listed buildings within one killometre of the site and four ancient monuments within the surrounding area while most of the site is within 'flood zone A the area considered to have the lowest probability of flooding'. A small part of the site, next to the Candwr Brook, is within flood zone B, which are areas known to have flooded, and zone C, an area without significant flood defence infrastructure. READ MORE: Solar farm could power 5,500 homes say developers The solar panels will be mounted on simple metal frames, or tables, pile-driven into the ground, eliminating the need for substantial foundations, and could operate with a fixed tilt to the south or on single axis tracking tables. The height of the tables above ground can range from a maximum of four meters to a minimum of 0.5 meters when using fixed structures with two vertical panels and a table tilt angle of 30 degrees. Frames will be spaced at a minimum distance of seven meters from each other. A decision on whether an environmental impact assessment is required is expected to be made in no more than 90 days from when the request was submitted on April 7.
