Similar solar farm plans to boost Berkshire councils' coffers

Two neighbouring councils are aiming to generate green energy and money to fund local services by building and running their own large solar farms.

Work begins next week to install 43,000 solar panels on fields that Wokingham Borough Council owns in the village of Barkham .

West Berkshire Council said construction would begin at its site near Grazeley in March, with plans for 35,000 panels.

The schemes are not connected but are just a few miles apart, and are expected to be operational by the end of 2027.

About 20 councils in the country currently own and run solar farms.

Both Liberal Democrat-led authorities have said their plans will contribute towards ambitious targets to cut carbon to net zero by the end of the decade.

Imogen Shepherd-Dubey, Wokingham's executive member for finance and governance, said the authority had a duty to ensure its assets were creating the best value for the public.

She said: "This is something new. We own this land, we might as well make the best of it.

"It will generate electricity that will help us run all of our council services, help us run our schools and libraries and public facilities, and what we don't use we will sell back to the grid.

"Because of the financial pressures that councils are under, they are having to look more laterally at how they use public money, and this is one of the examples.

"The margins on this seem quite high, it is speculative, but everything looks very good.

"Any investment has an element of risk, but I'm feeling the risks on this are very, very low."

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Wokingham's solar farm has been costed at £24m and is expected to turn a profit of more than £1m annually across a 40-year lifespan before it is restored to farmland.

The generating potential of some privately-run solar farms has been hampered by a backlog and delays in making firm connections to the National Grid .

But with an existing substation nearby, the facility should be operational from next September, with full connection completed in 2029, following a government order to reprioritise schemes that are ready-to-go.

West Berkshire's solar farm will cost £18.6m to build, and is projected to make £10m profit over its 40-year lifespan.

Council leader Jeff Brooks said it would make a dramatic impact on the council's carbon footprint.

"The business case stood up to scrutiny," he told the BBC.

"We're moving towards net zero in our own council usage, of electricity and energy. This will take us a big step forward on it, so it's exciting.

"Rather than a leap of faith, all the technical impact of it has all been considered. It will be up and running pretty quickly, so what's not to like really?"

The council inherited the land 30 years ago, and it has been run by a tenant farmer since. Three of its large fields will be given over to power generation.

Brooks said it was pure coincidence that both councils were working on similar schemes.

"We were aware, but they're not linked," he explained.

"I think we've both got it right. Councils are risk averse, they take a precautionary principle, but I'm from a business background that says if a business case stands up, go for it.

"All councils should be looking at how they generate new money, and that new money can come from enterprises like the things we're doing here.

"So you don't rely just on on council tax, or government grants, which are going down all the time. You look to see where's those new streams of income. This is one."

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