Residents near Newmarket express concerns over safety risks posed by a planned lithium-ion battery storage system at the Sunnica solar farm project
Concerns Over Sunnica Solar Farm Project
Residents are worried that the planned Sunnica solar farm will negatively impact their lives. They noted that there has been no construction work on the project, 18 months after the Government approved it, causing uncertainty.
The 2,500-acre energy farm will cover three sites. It will affect the East Cambridgeshire villages of Burwell, Isleham, Chippenham, Fordham, Kennett, and Snailwell. It will also impact Newmarket, Freckenham, West Row, and Worlington in Suffolk. The project will connect to the national grid at Burwell.
Dr. Catherine Judkins, chairman of the Say No to Sunnica group, said, “Although no actual building work seems to have started as yet, communities here aren’t too surprised by this. The Sunnica scheme remains the only mega-scale solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) that was outright recommended to be rejected by the government’s own expert planning examiners.”
She added, “It was described throughout the process as the poorest quality NSIP (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project) that Suffolk County Council has ever been presented with; we all knew it was a highly damaging scheme from the very outset.”
Dr. Judkins expressed concern about the future, stating, “This sense of foreboding has been hanging over us for the last seven years.”
She continued, “It’s still unfathomable that such a poor scheme has been rashly waved through, installing one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery energy stores next to homes and businesses, above aquifers, and even above a high-pressure gas mains pipe despite the known fire and explosion risk these pose.”
Residents live in fear as the Government resists calls from experts for a pause on the rollout of high-risk lithium-ion battery energy stores until safety regulations are enforced.
Dr. Judkins also mentioned, “We are further alarmed to see that Sunnica Ltd recently applied to amend the development consent order (DCO) to potentially pave the way for extra value projects to be developed around the scheme.”
Although Sunnica Ltd has withdrawn this change request, she feels there is an intention to industrialize the area further, possibly with large data centers that require a lot of power and water.
There is another change request submitted regarding how the scheme connects to the grid at Burwell. Residents can submit their views about this by January 16.
A spokesman for the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero stated, “Large-scale projects, such as Sunnica solar farm, often need to complete a range of post-consent work before starting construction.”
Project Overview
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Project Size | 2,500 acres |
| Affected Areas | Burwell, Isleham, Chippenham, Fordham, Kennett, Snailwell, Newmarket, Freckenham, West Row, Worlington |
| Connection Point | Burwell |
| Deadline for Resident Feedback | January 16 |
