Hampshire solar farm is UK’s largest

The UK’s largest solar farm has gone live in Hampshire.

Southwick Estate solar farm, near Fareham, has a 48MW capacity, enough to supply 14,500 homes, and has been built on 80ha of Grade 4 land deemed uneconomical for growing crops.

Developer Primrose Solar says the project, which took five months to build through “challenging” winter conditions, includes a number of ecological features to boost the site’s biodiversity and environmental value.

Once the land has been allowed to dry out, the site will be regraded and some areas of topsoil replaced, before being reseeded with native wildflowers.

There will also be hedgerow and tree planting, plus the installation of beehives and bat boxes. Some 150 sheep will also be grazed among the panels.