A SOLAR farm planned for a former landfill site in Bridgwater could still go ahead – but without any further public money.

Somerset County Council announced in February 2021 that it would commit just over £3m from its capital programme to delivering a new solar park in the Saltlands area, near the town’s household waste recycling centre.

Planning permission is in place for the site, with the council’s cabinet voting in March 2022 to push forward and appoint a contractor to deliver the project.

Somerset Council pulled the plug on the project in December 2023, shortly after declaring a ‘financial emergency’, citing delays on the part of National Grid.

The council has now revealed that the solar farm could still see the light of day as early as 2025 – though no further public money will be allocated to the project, and only half of the site could initially be connected.

The solar farm was intended to be built across three fields north of the Saltlands Community Wood, near the Wessex Water processing facility and the council’s school transport depot.

The site, which is surrounded by the River Parrett, was used as a landfill for inert waste until it was capped in 1989.

Council officers estimated in 2022 that the solar farm could generate more than 3.6million kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy per year, saving more than 800 tonnes of carbon.

The council revealed the solar farm’s fate in a report on its county-wide energy plan, which was discussed by its climate and place scrutiny committee on December 20.

James Divall, the council’s head of service for climate and natural environment, stated in his written report: “In 2022, Somerset County Council gained planning consent for an 8.5MW solar park on the former landfill site, only for the grid connection offer from National Grid for the eastern half of the site to be 2036, which halted the project.

“In August 2024, Somerset Council applied for and was granted £50,000 of grant funding from the South West Net Zero Hub to employ a consultant to review the project and re-negotiate the grid connection.”

Mr Divall clarified that the Saltlands site was “in a queue” for accelerated offer schemes, with National Grid trying to reduce the time between new solar farms being granted planning permission and actually supplying energy to the UK’s electricity network.

He added: “We were 19th in the queue, but a lot of those ahead of us have dropped out.”

Councillor Dave Mansell, who leads the opposition Green group on the council, welcomed the news, stating: “Saltlands could be a good money-earner for the council if we get this right.”

Fellow green councillor Martin Dimery, who chaired the meeting, also welcomed the update but said he was wary of further solar farms being approved on the best and most versatile farmland in Somerset.

He said: “We’d all prefer to see solar panels on industrial buildings than on good quality farmland.”

An options report on developing the solar farm site is expected in the spring of 2025.