Kinnon Park Solar Farm

The proposed solar farm at Kinnon Park will feed green energy into the grid and support a local reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The total land area for the proposals is around 125Ha, which is made up of around 12 fields.

An application to PKC will be for; Change of land use from agriculture to renewable energy generation of up to 49.9MW for a period of up to 40 years.

This may comprise:

134,300 ground-mounted solar panels. The mountings up to 3m high, south facing, and fixed. The panels would be located in rows or strings to represent a coherent and relatively simple layout. Inverters to convert the energy into electrical current suitable for the grid will be positioned around the solar farm areas.

Battery storage units, DNO substation and private substation would be se-cured in containers approximately 3m high – located in the east of the site nearest the main highway access via A85.

Site would be secured by deer-style fencing of 2.0m in height, supported by wooded posts of approx. 2.0m in height. CCTV cameras would be erected either pole or fence-mounted, located at strategic points.

The proposals would have the potential to meet the requirement of up to 19,000 family homes and would displace over 11,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network each year.

Planning Policy Position

National Planning Policy

The National Planning Framework 4, which was adopted in February 2023, put the climate and nature crisis at the forefront of its long-term vision. Prioritising green energy ensures that the country meets its Net Zero goals (Scotland’s Climate Change Plan, backed by legislation, has set an approach to achieving net zero emissions by 2045).

1. Tackling the Climate and Nature Crises
2. Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
3. Biodiversity
4. Soils
5. Historic Assets and Places
6. Vacant Land
7. Energy
8. Design, Quality and Place
9. Flood Risk

PKC Local Development Plan

Principle of development/Sustainability (Policy 33A, 35)

Landscape, Place, Historic Environment (Policy 1A, 1B, 29, 31, 38, 39)

Public Access (Policy 15)

Ecology and Biodiversity (Policy 40, 41, 50, 51)

Transportation and Access (Policy 60)