00:00Kent's biggest ever solar farm is one step closer to catching sun rays, now that the
00:06developers are seeking permission from the government.
00:09The plant will occupy multiple sites stretching along Lyd and up towards Romney Marsh and
00:15could power 140,000 homes with clean energy.
00:20Now, I'll give it that, it is a lovely view, but in just a few years this entire section
00:26behind me could be part of what's shaping up to be one of the UK's largest solar farms.
00:32This section behind me is a small part of the 1,600 in-hot, it comes at a time when
00:39the UK's
00:40energy security is at risk and therefore could help strengthen it, but Campeon is saying this
00:45could be much worse than just an ice-hot.
00:4884% of the scheme, which is, this one is 4.5 square miles total, just for Southbrook,
00:59so 84% of the 4.5 square miles is Grade 1 agricultural land being used, it should be used
01:07for growing
01:07food.
01:08For Mike, who runs Westbrook Farm, the proposals include running cables under his farmland that
01:15will connect the sites and Dungeoners Power Station together.
01:18These could be disastrous.
01:21If they do as they say and leave us and not put solar panels on, we're going to be in
01:26the
01:26middle, there will be no way of expanding because we're going to be surrounded by solar panels.
01:49Ed Miliband, the head of energy security and Net Zero will have the final say over whether
01:55the Southbrook project will get the green light.
01:58But even if campaigners manage to scare off EDF Power Solutions, the battle isn't over,
02:04with other potential projects set to swamp the marsh.
02:09But EDF Power Solutions said,
02:11We are currently at a very early stage in developing our proposals for Southbrook Solar Farm and look
02:17forward to hearing the views of the local community.
02:20Consultation is a vital part of our design process and we encourage everyone to get involved
02:25in our upcoming consultation and comment on our plans.
02:29Residents will be able to make their feelings known in September.
02:33But until then, for campaigners like Mike and Alan, they've got no choice but to plough ahead.
02:40Megan Short for Kane TV in Romney Marsh.
Comments