Locals fume over plans to turn beauty spot into massive solar farm amid eco fears: 'Sea of grey panels'
Residents have slammed plans which could see one of Wales' most renowned beauty spots surrounded by thousands of solar panels
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Residents have slammed plans which could see one of Wales' most renowned beauty spots surrounded by thousands of solar panels.
Locals in the village of Bishton, east of Newport have hit out at the proposals which could see at least 334 acres of the Gwent Levels beauty spot covered with solar panels.
Renewable energy developer, JBM Solar, is behind the Craig Y Perthi solar farm project which will occupy 590 acres of land in total.
Some residents have reportedly been told they could live around 15 metres from where the panels will begin and claim they will receive "no tangible benefit" in return.
Renewable energy developer, JBM Solar, is behind the Craig Y Perthi solar farm project who will occupy 590 acres of land in total
PAJBM have been accused of "greenwashing" by residents who say they appreciate the need for renewable energy but can't stand by and watch their village transformed into a "sea of grey panels".
"We are not nimbies. This isn't about our own backyard," resident David Fulker told the Daily Mail.
"It's about a whole area of fertile and rich land which is home to many species that is under serious threat because of our proximity to the grid hook-up, which is what all of this boils down to.
"This is low-hanging fruit for developers.
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"Undoubtedly there will be an awful lot of landowners making an awful lot of money on the levels from this who don't really mind what happens to the land, the wildlife, or Bishton because if it all gets a little too hot they can go elsewhere."
The power station will save more than 3,180,000 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of planting 52 million trees, according to JBM.
Resident Dawn Hooper added: "While this story is about Bishton this is much bigger than us. Everyone in Bishton is interested in renewable energy and we support all of that but this is a ridiculous scale in the wrong location.
"You can't tackle climate change by dumping solar panels here.
The power station will save more than 3,180,000 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of planting 52 million trees, according to JBM
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"Nearby we've had a huge development in Llanwern with few solar panels. Why weren't solar panels installed on every roof there? Why haven't nearby brownfield sites, such as at Llanwern, been used for solar energy?
"Once this land is gone we can't get it back. If we don't put a stop to this the levels will end up covered and it could set a precedent for the rest of Wales."
Locals have been offered a "mitigation" by JBM such as the planting of 89 acres of wildflower meadows and 30 acres of "enhanced" bird habitat.
Following a public consultation, JBM has increased the proposed housing buffer to 75m and bumped up its tree and hedgerow-planting promise from 2km to 11.3km.
The company predicts the land will be able to be returned to its former state after 40 years.