93,000-panel Cupar solar farm bid lodged with Scottish Government
Plans for a major 93,000-panel solar farm near Cupar have been submitted to the Scottish Government.
The West Springfield scheme also includes up to 50 megawatt battery energy storage on farmland near the A914.
Together they would have capacity to power 12,500 homes a year.
The site sits just over a mile east of Ladybank and south of Bow of Fife.
And the development is separate from a bid for 58,000 solar panels at Over Rankeilor, on the other side of Cupar.
The West Springfield scheme is described as nationally significant due to its size and capacity.
And this means the Scottish Government will rule on it, rather than Fife Council.
The plans were submitted by Perthshire-based BLC Energy, which is working with Trio Power.
It has also lodged a proposal for a similar-sized development near Glamis Castle, in Angus.
If approved, construction at the West Springfield solar farm site could start next year.
And it could be producing energy by 2027.
BLC says it is committed to ongoing consultation with the public over its plans.
It has already held two public engagement events, in March and April.
The developer says its Fife and Angus proposals would 'materially advance' the Scottish and UK governments' ambitions for a fully decarbonised electricity system by 2035.
BLC Energy managing director Neil Lindsay said: 'We've now submitted 200MW of projects into the Scottish planning system, with another 200MW planned before the end of the year.
'Our relationships with landowners, commitment to meaningful community consultation and expertise in the technology mean we have an excellent pipeline of projects.
'If Scotland and the UK are to meet their renewable energy targets, we need more of these real-scale developments.'
The West Springfield solar farm plan comes with an associated benefit fund of £500 per MW during the project's lifetime.
This amounts to £1.3 million over 40 years, with communities deciding for themselves how it is spent.
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