DONCASTER Council says it is 'good news' for the borough that Warrington Borough Council has bought a massive solar farm.

As previously reported in the Warrington Guardian, the council is set to pay £63.5 million for the site almost 100 miles away near Dunsville in Doncaster.

Planning permission was granted in 2021 for the 300 acre development.

The solar farm will be located adjacent to Dunsville Quarry directly north and the M18 along the southern boundary.

Doncaster Council bosses said this would boost the areas green energy capability where Doncaster already ranks 9th in the country for the number of solar panels.

The development includes the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a ground-mounted solar farm with an export capacity of up to 49.9 megawatts (MW) for distribution to the National Grid.

Dan Swaine, director of economy and environment at DMBC, told the Local Democracy Service: “This is good news for Doncaster. This development was given planning permission in February 2021 and has since been waiting for a worthy investor.

“Doncaster is a key contributor to renewable energy generation in the region and is placed 9th of all 406 UK Local Authorities for the number of solar PV installations, with 7,311 homes/buildings utilising them.

“The recently approved solar farm is one of the largest in the north of England and we have the highest level of installed wind energy generation in South Yorkshire, with 61MW, greater than the combined wind energy generation across the rest of South Yorkshire.

“The council is interested in purchasing 100 per cent of its electricity from locally generated renewables, so this development by Warrington Council could be of greater value to us.”

The move, the latest in a long line of commercial investments from Warrington Borough Council, has been heavily criticised by the town's opposition Conservative group.

Leader Nigel Balding has challenge the investment with a 'call in' which will see the scrutiny committee meet in an emergency committee to decide if the move can go ahead.

Cllr Balding said: “Most people would agree that investment in renewable energy is a good thing but the question is whether this is a good thing for WBC. Our council already has too much debt and it might be required to reduce this in the near future.

“Good investment practice is to spread the risks across different sectors and businesses, like the proverb ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’.

“By contrast WBC’s investment portfolio has relatively few investment classes and is dominated by housing associations, warehousing, a business park, and solar energy. This is in addition to the disastrous forays into energy trading and banking.”