Issue - meetings

That the development of the two solar farms, and the high voltage connection of Brookhill landfill site with Alltami Depot be recommended to Cabinet for approval.

Councillor Kevin Jones presented an update report on the opportunity to develop solar farms at Brookhill and Standard landfill sites in Buckley, following the report to Cabinet in June 2015.  This would enable the ongoing reduction in value of the two landfill sites to be supplemented by significant levels of revenue generated from investment in the solar farms whilst reducing the Council’s carbon footprint.  The plans also included the potential to use the energy to power the Council’s fleet of vehicles.

The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) referred to a significant amount of work carried out following the Cabinet report when there had been some uncertainty about the feed-in tariffs.  Since that time, it was shown that the new rate for larger scale Photo Voltaic systems had reduced from the previous year.  The business case indicated that the scheme required significant investment but that use of the existing connection to the electricity grid would provide an opportunity to produce income for the Council beyond a 20 year period.  Development of the solar farms under the Council’s control was considered to be more beneficial than renting.  The Chief Officer stated that many local authorities were moving towards similar schemes and described the tendering exercise under the APSE framework, the impact assessments which had been undertaken and support received through the consultation process.  He added that the scheme allowed some flexibility to move the solar panels and confirmed that the public rights of way on both sites remained unaffected.  He thanked the Cabinet Member and Energy Manager for their efforts in taking forward the initiative and explained that options for the Council to power its own vehicle fleet would be considered at a later date.

The Energy Manager provided an overview of the business cases based on increases in the annual inflation rate of 2½% and 5%, and explained the potential benefits in increased savings from the climate change levy.  It was intended for the entire system to be operated and maintained by the installers with the inclusion of a performance guarantee in the contract to safeguard the Council in the event that targets were not achieved.

Councillor Nancy Matthews asked whether consideration had been given to the percentage of daylight hours needed to provide the energy, taking account of different seasons.  The Energy Manager said that the duration of daylight hours was more important than maximum output.  The power generated for use at Alltami would be a combination of landfill gas with solar power, providing more than enough to satisfy the demands at Alltami.

In supporting the proposals, Councillor Ian Dunbar welcomed the financial benefits in view of increasing energy costs.

Councillor Colin Legg also spoke in support but stressed the importance of using scientific recording equipment to ascertain the average sunshine hours, range and tendency to increase/decrease over a period of years to give assurance on more precise figures.  The Energy Manager explained that Lark Energy, the successful company from the tendering process, had given a guarantee on output achieved from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62