Cressing Solar Farm
Cressing Solar Farm was constructed on arable land, approximately 3 miles southeast of Braintree in Essex. The site comprises of part of one field belonging to a large diverse farming business (12,800 acres in Essex and Suffolk). ESCO were the developer for the solar farm responsible for all processes from identifying the site, through planning, to start of construction.
The site had excellent existing screening requiring little reinforcement and biodiversity improvements were included together with a ‘nature zone’ as a local education resource. No objections were received against the proposal and it gained support from the local parish council.
The planning application required the inclusion of a sequential assessment covering a 30km radius area of the site, to show that there was no or very little scope for placing the solar farm elsewhere. This was key to the unanimous approval of the site by the Planning Committee.
| System size | 5MWp |
| Commissioned | March 2016 |
| Farm area | 22 acres |
| Value | approx £5million |
| Constructor | Electro-Frietag |
| Planning consultants | RPS Group |
| Planning Authority | Braintree District Council |
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