Driffield Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System

The co-located site will be located over several flat agricultural fields just south of the River Hull. Connection will be made via 66kV overhead line from the onsite substation to the DNO connection point across the river. The location is well suited for the installation of a PV-plant as it is flat with favourable soil conditions.

The site approximately covers 58 hectares of Grade 3b (moderate quality) agricultural land and may be used by grazing livestock when the Solar PV & BESS are operational. After a 40 year period, the project will be decommissioned and the land will be reverted back to its original state.

Ecological surveys have been undertaken on the site to identify wildlife habitats to be considered in the development, construction and operational stages.

Several measures will be implemented to preserve and maintain the surrounding trees and hedgerows that provide refuge to species including barn owls, bats and hedgehogs. These include installation of bird and bat boxes across the site in addition to the several hedgehog houses placed on the grassland boundaries.

An ecologist approved Landscaping Ecological Management Plan (LEMP) will be followed for full details and frequency of ecological maintenance during the operational phase of the project.

We have carefully considered views from both public locations and private properties. In order to reduce the visual impact, the solar arrays reach a maximum height of 2.5 m, which is equivalent or lower than surrounding trees and hedgerows.

As part of the LEMP, some measures to mitigate landscape and visual impact include:

• Retention, protection & enhancement of existing trees and hedgerows

• Gaps within existing hedgerows infilled with suitable native hedgerow species

• New tree planting on field margins

• Establishment of species rich grassland areas