IT COULD take 11 years for Wokingham’s planned solar farm to be connected to the National Grid, a decision the council’s chief executive says is “incredibly frustrating”.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) signed an agreement with Wokingham Borough Council last year, with a target date of 2026 to connect the site in Barkham.
The project was expected to generate millions to help fund council services. But this plan has been jeopardised by the news SSEN could delay the connection to 2037.
Susan Parsonage, the council’s chief executive, said: “We were incredibly frustrated and angry to receive the notification of delays from SSEN.
“We have been working closely with them on our proposals before and since entering into a contractual agreement and at no point did SSEN express any concerns over capacity or timings.
“To suddenly announce a delay of this length is simply unacceptable.”
She said the council had not received any real explanation.
“I’ve written to the Chief Executive Officers of both companies to express our concerns and seek a resolution and am also contacting other local authorities and bodies to discuss the situation and see what more can be done,” Ms Parsonage added.
“We will also be contacting the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero with our concerns.”
The council has paused the installation on the site until the situation has been resolved.
Ms Parsonage said the delay would have an impact on budgets.
“It leaves us with a significant shortfall in our expected income after the new solar farm started feeding energy into the grid,” she said. “A gap which will have to be filled with further savings or a reduction in the critical services our residents receive.”
The new solar farms form part of the council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), which in turn contributes to the nation’s carbon neutral objectives.
Lib Dem councillor for Evendons, Cllr Sarah Kerr, said her party were disappointed with the delay.
“The council’s excellent team of officers has worked tirelessly on this project and continues to do so, to try and remedy the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is
unacceptable to suddenly announce such a long delay. The root cause of this issue lies squarely with the Conservative government.
“The government are happy to set targets but have failed to develop a credible plan to ensure delivery on the ground.”
She continued: “The energy security plan launched last week is underwhelming, lacking clarity and support to give confidence to investors and shows a total lack of urgency. This is why energy generation schemes like ours are receiving notifications like this. We urge the government to act now before it’s too late.”
The Wokingham Conservative leader wanted the situation resolved.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Leader of the Conservative Group and ward member for Hillside, said “The creation of the solar farm was a project begun by the previous Conservative administration to help the Borough move to more environmentally friendly forms of power and bring in valuable income to the Council worth millions of pounds each year,” she said.
“Under the Liberal Democrat/Labour administration there have already been considerable delays and setbacks. This further delay of 11 years seems disproportionate. Other solar farms up and down the country have been created quicker.
“It is important that the Council works with SSEN and National Grid to find a way forward. Answers are needed as to what exactly is causing this latest delay.”
And Cllr Andy Croy (Labour, Bulmershe and Whitegates), the chair of the Climate Emergency and Overview Scrutiny Committee, was also unhappy with the delay.
“National Grid has paid £8bn of dividends to shareholders in the last five years and yet its failure to invest in infrastructure will cost local people £1m a year,” he said.
“The Conservatives have had 13 years in which to ensure, by legislation and by regulation, that the privatised national power infrastructure is fit for purpose and in this they have failed.”
He continued: “The implications are far reaching – and not just for Wokingham Borough. The news means that the uptake of cleaner, greener and cheaper energy production will be delayed all over the country which will delay our journey to reach net zero carbon emissions.
“It is vital that the government step in a get a grip of the situation.
“We cannot let an out of control private company behave is such a dysfunctional manner and hold the whole country to ransom like this – it is ludicrous.”
