Plans have been approved to install 264 solar panels at Bilton Park Village Farm to produce green electricity for its park homes and caravan.
The owner of the site lodged an application to Harrogate Borough Council for the solar panels which would be capable of producing 90,471 kWh of electricity a year.
The site, on Bilton Lane, is a popular holiday location for people wishing to explore Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Now, the borough council has approved the installation of the panels.
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Planning documents submitted to the authority say the park wants to improve the environmental impact of the business and the solar panels would reduce its carbon footprint by around 31 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
The panels would cover 454 square metres of field next to the park.
The documents say that around 30% of the electricity generated will be exported back to the National Grid so it can be utilised by the public.
It adds:
Bilton caravan park bids for 250 solar panels to produce green energy“This means that the public can also utilise electricity which has been generated by renewable energy, further reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and power stations.
“The installation of the solar PV system would not solely serve the applicant but would also benefit other households.”
Bilton Park Village Farm hopes to install 264 solar panels to produce green electricity for its park homes and caravans.
The site, on Bilton Lane, is a popular holiday location for people wishing to explore Harrogate and Knaresborough.
The owner of the site has now submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the solar panels, which would cover 454 square metres of a field next to the site.
They would be capable of producing 90,471 kWh of electricity a year.
Planning documents say the park wants to improve the environmental impact of the business and the solar panels would reduce its carbon footprint by around 31 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
It also says that around 30% of the electricity generated will be exported back to the National Grid so it can be utilised by the public.
It adds:
“This means that the public can also utilise electricity which has been generated by renewable energy, further reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and power stations.
“The installation of the solar PV system would not solely serve the applicant but would also benefit other households.”
Harrogate Borough Council will decide on the plans at a later date.
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Green light for 1,000 solar panels on Harrogate Convention Centre roof
More than 1,000 solar panels are to be installed on top of Harrogate Convention Centre in a bid to reduce the building’s carbon footprint.
Harrogate Borough Council has approved its own plans for 1,077 solar panels on several buildings at the venue, which is the largest energy consumer of all buildings in the district.
The solar panels will save 24 tonnes of Co2 each year and be paid for with £375,000 of decarbonisation funding from the government.
Energy efficient lighting, air source heat pumps and insulation will also be installed at the venue, which hosted a business conference event as part of the first Harrogate Climate Action Festival on Friday.
A council spokesperson said:
“The grant is enabling the delivery of a fully-funded carbon reduction scheme, supporting the proactive delivery of our carbon reduction strategy and reducing the council’s annual carbon emissions by 70 tonnes per year.”
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Using cash from the same decarbonisation scheme, 420 solar panels and air source heat pumps will also be installed at the Hydro swimming pool in Harrogate in a move that could reduce the venue’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.
Harrogate District Hospital also received £14m to reduce its carbon footprint by 25%, while North Yorkshire County Council was awarded just under £2m to improve the efficiency of its buildings.

How the solar panels will look on top of the Harrogate Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Harrogate Borough Council is pushing ahead with plans for a potential £47m redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre after warning it may not survive without major investment.
The 40-year-old venue was struggling financially before the pandemic and was used as a 500-bed NHS Nightingale hospital for almost a year.
It did not treat a single coronavirus patient and the facility was dismantled earlier this year.
Approval for 420 solar panels to be installed at Harrogate HydroHarrogate Borough Council has given approval for 420 solar panels to be installed on the town’s Hydro leisure centre.
The move is part of a wider decarbonisation initiative, which could also see 1,000 solar panels installed at Harrogate Convention Centre.
Council officials said in planning documents that the panels will help to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions at the ageing facility, which replaced the old Coppice Valley pool when it opened in 1999.
It added that the scheme could reduced the council’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.
The council successfully bid this year for funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme, which will help fund the panels.
The bid saw the council granted £2.4 million for projects at the Hydro and convention centre.
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A total of £1.8 million will be spent at The Hydro to install the solar panels as well as replace gas boilers with air source heat pumps and put in place new energy monitoring and control systems.
Kathryn Daly, head of place-shaping and economic growth at the council, previously said:
Plans to install 1,000 solar panels on roof of Harrogate Convention Centre“We have ambitious plans to ensure our own operations and buildings will be clean, efficient and have a net zero carbon economy by 2038.
“This government funding provides a significant step to allow us to achieve this.”
Harrogate Borough Council has submitted plans to install 1,077 solar panels on the roofs of several buildings at Harrogate Convention Centre.
The council, which owns the centre, applied for planning permission last week. It’s unclear when the application will be heard or when construction could start.
According to planning documents, the scheme will be fully funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme.
The scheme provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.
The council has appointed French utility company Engie as contractor for the project.
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How the solar panels will look at the top of the Harrogate Convention Centre.
It follows a similar planning application by the council to install 420 solar panels at the Hydro in Harrogate, which was also funded by the public sector decarbonisation scheme.
At the time the council said that it had “ambitious plans” to make sure its operations and buildings were clean, efficient and had a net zero carbon economy by 2038.