DORSET has been ranked as one of the top areas across the whole of the UK for renewable energy generation.
The Dorset Council area makes the top 15% of more than 400 local authority areas for renewable electricity generation.
Renewable energy generation in the county has increased by more than 250% when comparing 2014 to 2021, with the track record of the local planning authority securing ‘well planned’ schemes as one of the main reasons behind the high ranking.
Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “Our planning officers have been working positively to facilitate renewable energy generation in Dorset.
“Officers work to observe the protections on the environment and provide constructive feedback and recommendations to proposals where possible.
“Changes and improvements which are made to proposals as they move through the application process can help to ensure we strike a balance by reducing any negative environmental impacts, while still facilitating installations which will help reduce harmful carbon emissions long term.”
In 2020, Dorset generated enough electricity to supply more than 110,000 average-sized households for a year.
That number is expected to increase with the installation of three recently approved solar farms, which have all been granted planning permission in the last six months, and are anticipated to provide enough energy to power a further 29,000 homes each year.
A spokeswoman for Dorset Council added: “Construction for the North Fossil Farm Solar project, located just south of Tadnoll, will begin this year and is expected to generate enough power for 14,000 homes.
“It is estimated that the Higher Stockbridge Solar Park, south of Sherborne, will generate clean, renewable energy for around 10,605 homes a year.
“The Blandford Hill Eco Hub project’s approved proposal includes a 15-megawatt ground-mounted solar farm and a 3-megawatt battery storage facility, which would be installed to the south of Blandford Hill, generating energy supply for 4,000 homes.”
Dorset Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy sets out a commitment to support the county to be carbon neutral.
In achieving this the authority says they acknowledge securing an increase in renewable energy installations ‘has to be carefully managed, due to the important landscapes and features in the county’.
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