Fife Council has approved the development of a new 29.9MW solar farm and 20MW Battery Storage system on land near Dunfermline, owned by I & H Brown.

Proposed by AMPYR Solar Europe (ASE), whose headquarters are in London and Maastricht, are a leading developer of solar energy projects across Europe.

The site is located on a fully remediated former open cast coal mine and will be connected to the national grid at Townhill Substation. Consideration has been given to the location and design of the project. The site is discreet, with the layout and design developed to further mitigate any visual impact through landscape and planting. The project includes an active habitat management plan, wildflower meadows between the panels, planting of a native hedgerow and a scattered tree line. These enhancements will help to boost biodiversity while the area under the panels will continue to be used for grazing.

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The solar farm will provide enough energy to power 6,500 homes at peak power and the associated battery storage will facilitate storage and supply of power to help balance the grid. The project will help support Fife Council's Climate Emergency Declaration and contribute towards the Scottish Government's 2045 net-zero emissions target. Construction will start next year, with the site expected to be operational by the end of 2023.

Welcoming the news, I & H Brown, said: "This marks yet another renewable energy project we are contributing to and we look forward to seeing the site built out next year so it can start generating clean energy."