Work to begin on large-scale solar farm to reduce Cheshire East’s CO2 emissions

Cheshire East Council is set to begin work on a new 4.1 megawatt solar farm (enough to power over 1,200 homes) on a council-owned site near Crewe.

The solar farm will generate renewable energy to supply power to a state-of-the-art in vessel composting facility on the adjacent site. Additional electricity generated will be put back into the national power grid, helping to further offset the borough’s carbon footprint.

Development of the new solar farm is the latest phase in the relationship between Biowise, which operates the composting site, and Cheshire East Council. The site composts the kitchen and garden waste of Cheshire East residents collected to produce compost, rather than seeing it go to landfill.

Bob Wilkes, managing director at Biowise, said:

“To add a carbon neutral source of power to the process by which Cheshire East Council recycles its kitchen and garden waste into 100 per cent organic compost should be congratulated. 

“It provides residents with a model of best practice on how to manage local waste and we are delighted to have been able to play our part in that process and look forward to many years of carbon free composting.”

The solar farm will be installed by Gamma Energy Limited, with work due to start in early autumn and expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

The move is also part of Cheshire East Council’s 2025 commitment to becoming carbon neutral in all its operations, and leading the way for the wider borough to understand and reduce its carbon footprint. The 2025 target is based on an assessment of the council’s carbon footprint and covers the emissions that the council has direct control over, including streetlighting, gas and electricity from council-owned buildings, fleet vehicles and business travel.

Cllr Mick Warren, chair of the council’s environment and communities committee, said:

“Cheshire East Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2025, and that means reducing emissions that the council has direct control over. We will do everything within our powers to achieve this.

“We are delivering a wide range of projects to reduce our carbon emissions, including decarbonising council buildings though initiatives such as low carbon heat pumps, LED lighting, solar panels and improved heating systems. 

“Streetlights and road signs across the borough are being upgraded to LED lighting, we’ve introduced electric vehicles for services, and are trialing hydrogen for our refuse vehicles through the North West’s first hydrogen refuelling station in Middlewich. 

“We know that we can’t eliminate these carbon emissions completely by 2025, so projects like this one at Leighton Grange are vital, in order to offset some of those emissions and help us to reach our target.

“Another way we will offset our carbon emissions is through significant tree-planting across the borough. We are well underway with this project, with plans to plant 100 hectares of trees by 2025 – the equivalent of 140 football pitches. This solar farm will sit alongside our largest single-site tree-planting scheme to date, where we planted seven hectares of trees in 2022.”