Enviromena to appeal against rejection of its solar project in Dorset

• UK clean power services firm Enviromena claimed that it will certainly appeal versus Dorset Council's decision to deny its proposal for a 40-acre (16.2 ha) solar farm in the countryside north-east of Dorchester.

The firm set out to install an 11.8-MW solar farm in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), yet Dorset Planning Committee elected 8-3 against the project and also refused planning consent. The thinking was that the site did not satisfy criteria for development in the AONB and that its visual influence would be detrimental to the landscape.

Enviromena wanted to set up the plant near the village of Maiden Newton, and also generate sufficient electrical energy to power some 4,800 houses each year. It claimed it had made the project to keep the visual influence to a minimum and also obtained complete support of the regional church council and community members that recognized the demand for clean power choices.

"We are bitterly disappointed with the decision. We've functioned very hard over the past 17 months that the project has remained in the planning process to deal with all worries elevated by consultees as well as interested parties," Mark Harding, Enviromena's European Development Director.

"We completely think that our submission satisfied every one of the criteria for development in the AONB. We will currently wage an appeal to guarantee an end result which not just acknowledges the need to satisfy local conditions but supports the immediate nationwide schedule of providing lasting, renewable resource," included Harding.