The public will have another opportunity to find out more about Peterborough City Council's renewable energy plans at two events this week.

Three separate planning applications for solar farms were formally submitted to the Local Planning Authority in mid-December, following extensive public consultation in the latter half of 2012.

The events are part of the formal, statutory, consultation process, as part of which the planning authority is responsible for ensuring the plans are communicated in full. Any comments made by the public during the consultation period will be considered by planning officers as part of their determination of the applications.

The events will be at:

•Bedford Hall, Thorney on Wednesday 9 January 2013 from 2pm to 7pm


•Newborough Village Hall on Friday 18 January 2013 from 2pm to 7pm

The city council is proposing to install solar panels and wind turbines on three sites to the East and North East of the city totalling 900 acres, or just 0.24 per cent of the agricultural land in Peterborough. This first planning application is for solar panels only.

According to the city council the solar farm alone will generate a total of 84 megawatts of power that will be sold to the national grid.

The combined wind and solar proposals are expected to generate income in excess of £110 million over the 25 year life of the scheme – money that it says will go towards protecting front-line services.

Councillor Marco Cereste, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said that it is a vitally important project for the city: "Our plans to generate renewable energy on this scale would make Peterborough one of the greenest cities in the country.

"Possibly more importantly for the city’s taxpayers, this revenue is vital in helping us protect and maintain front-line service at a time when central government funding is being cut significantly. We are a low-taxation city and we want to keep it that way, but that means finding new ways to generate income from our assets.

"If members of the public have commented to us about our plans in the pre-application phase, we would ask them to formally register their comments with the planning officers, with whom the final decision will rest."

(CD/GK)