New plan for solar park at landfill tip could help Peterborough in fight to become carbon zero city

The Dogsthorpe landfill tip in Eye, Peterborough, which could become home to a new solar park.

New plans have been drawn up to create a large solar park on a section of Peterborough’s Dogsthorpe landfill site.

The proposal involves the installation of about 400 solar photovoltaic tables, which hold the solar panels, on the 23.7 hectare site within the Dogsthorpe landfill site on the north-eastern edge of Peterborough with Welland Road 300 metres to the west.

The project also involves the installation of a battery energy storage system plus a number of substations, energy storage units, external electrical equipment such as transformers plus perimeter security and CCTV security cameras.

If approved, it is expected the solar park would go someway to helping Peterborough achieve its carbon zero ambitions.

The plans have been drawn by Northampton-based Infinis Solar Developments, which has been generating low carbon power from the decomposing waste on the site for more than 18 years, and submitted to Peterborough City Council for consideration.

It is expected that the solar park would export up to 14 MW of renewable electricity to the distribution network operator during peak operation for distribution on the national grid.

A study that accompanies the planning application states that the proposed solar park would provide a number of ‘significant’ benefits.

These would include helping the UK ‘meet its statutory climate change and renewable energy obligations, help Peterborough close the gap in meeting its carbon reduction targets, help balance the grid network during periods when traditional renewable sources are unable to generate power and increase economic security to UK energy bill payers.

According to the document the proposed development could generate about 15.2 GWh of renewable electricity each year and in theory could supply up to 3,800 houses.

However, a private wire connection could provide direct export of power to adjacent commercial users.

The developer says the solar park could ‘help Peterborough become a net-zero carbon city by 2030’.

Data from the Government shows that in 2021, Peterborough generated just 132.9GWh of electricity from renewable sources.

Yet in the same year, electricity use in Peterborough reached 937.3GWh.

It means the city has a deficit in renewable electricity of 804.4GWh.