Stop Stamford Solar City

STOP Stamford Solar City.

The proposed Stamford Solar City (SSC) site is twice the size of Rutland Water covering up to 2,500 acres of unspoilt countryside. Combined with adjacent Mallard Pass (which is already the largest approved solar project in the UK), if SSC gets the green light by Ed Miliband as the deciding Secretary of State, the LARGEST solar industrial estate in the UK will reluctantly be on our doorstep.

The beautiful historical Georgian town of Stamford will be engulfed to the north by solar panels, inverters, battery energy storage systems and substations seriously damaging its attractiveness as a tourist destination. With cabling to connect SSC and Mallard Pass to the National Grid, the total local area impacted by this enormous industrial development will be nearly 15 square miles - the size of Athens or two thirds the size of Manhattan desecrating the pristine landscape around Stamford and its surrounding villages.

HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART: Stamford Solar City is for the benefit of a few to the detriment of many. 'The Burghley Land' and two local landowners have developed the proposals in secret. They have signed a preliminary deal to lease their land for 60 years with global business Aukera, losing thousands of acres of farmland in north-east Rutland for generations.

The only beneficiaries from this industrial development are a handful of foreign private business investors and landowners who will make millions at the expense of local residents. Aukera is owned by a Brussels based private equity firm Atlas Invest, the majority shareholder is the Dutch private family office of Marcel Van Poecke, ironically an oil industry billionaire. Aukera has recently secured foreign investment from Deutsche Bank and Rabobank to finance the growth of its UK solar portfolio.

Solar panels are for roofs not fields. Rutland, the smallest county in the country is heavily dependent on agriculture and tourism is disproportionately impacted by solar industrial estates. Three – Pilton, Langham, and Essendine are already approved with another two – Exton/Barnsdale Gardens and Pickwell/Wissendine/Somerby are awaiting a decision....

Solar power performs poorly in the UK climate. The government’s latest data published in April shows that solar power is the worst performing renewable energy generator in the UK. Over the past five years, the entire UK solar fleet has struggled to reach a little over 10% efficiency. Analysis suggests solar developers are over-scaling schemes on vast tracts of farmland to make up for poor performance in the UK climate. Maximising panel volumes allows them to secure profits from low yields.

Farmland is for food not solar. Food supply and security are growing concerns in UK, yet vast swathes of agricultural land is rapidly being sacrificed in favour of energy security.

Funds will be used to support marketing materials to raise awareness and highlight the impact of the project's size.