Plans revealed for Leeds solar park

Plans have been revealed for a new solar park to the south east of Leeds with the potential to power about 12,000 homes.Banks Renewables is developing a planning application for a new solar energy park with an installed capacity of about 40MW. The facility could provide enough power to meet the annual energy requirements of up to 12,000 family homes and could displace more than 9,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network each year.The Barnsdale scheme would include solar panels and battery storage covering an area of about 124 acres of south-facing agricultural land between Kippax and Allerton Bywater.It would be located about three miles from the Hook Moor wind farm, which Banks Renewables owns and operates, and will link directly into the Ledston Primary electricity sub-station situated along Barnsdale Road, to the south east of the site.About £25,000 of the revenues generated by the scheme would be directed every year into a community benefits fund, while a detailed ecology and biodiversity strategy is also being developed.Banks Renewables is expecting to submit a planning application to Leeds City Council for the development before the end of the year, with a view to it being determined in the first quarter of 2021.