Johnston solar farm given the green light

Plans to build a 39 acre solar farm near Johnston were unanimously approved by councillors this week.Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee met on Tuesday (February 23) to discuss the application, which its officers had recommended for conditional approval. The 5MW solar farm would be located on agricultural land to the east of the A4076 trunk road at Pope Hill and would consist of 17,820 280 watt panels arranged in arrays on the site.The applicant, 3C Energy Solar Farm Ltd said it posted 830 consultation letters locally and held a public exhibition outlining its plans at Johnston Community Primary School in July 2015. The exhibition attracted 25 people, the majority in support of the proposal.Addressing the committee, James Jenkins spoke on behalf of the applicant. He said it was a very good site for a solar farm and that they have a very experienced construction team which will minimise impact on both local residents and the highway.Cllr Ken Rowlands said both Johnston or Freystrop Community Councils had no objection to the solar farm, but had both enquired if they would be receiving any community funding from the applicant.