Leeds City Council leader visit marks start of construction at West Yorkshire solar energy park

Construction work has officially kicked off on the site of a new West Yorkshire solar energy project which will be able to generate enough electricity to meet the average annual requirements of up to 13,000 family homes.

Leading renewables developer OnPath Energy is building the Barnsdale Solar Park on a 50-hectare site between Kippax and Allerton Bywater to the East of Leeds.

Having completed preparatory design and built a new access junction, OnPath has now started the process of putting the solar panels and supporting infrastructure in place, with Leeds City Council leader and West Yorkshire deputy mayor Cllr James Lewis visiting the site to mark the formal commencement of work.

Specialist contractor GOLDBECK SOLAR is working with the OnPath project team at the Barnsdale Solar Energy Park, while a range of local contractors will be appointed in the coming months to work on different aspects of the project.

It is scheduled to be connected to the National Grid via the nearby Ledston Primary electricity sub-station in spring next year, with the first green energy set to be generated on the site in the summer.

Alongside this, Barnsdale Solar Park’s detailed ecology and biodiversity strategy will also see the biggest increase in biodiversity for any renewable energy project within Leeds to date.

It includes extensive wildflower meadows, wetland habitat, native trees, scrub and hedgerow planting, and will achieve a biodiversity net gain of 106%, which is more than ten times the expected outcome for a project of this type.

As part of OnPath Energy’s OnPath Together development approach, over £800,000 of the revenues generated by Barnsdale will be directed into a community fund supporting local community groups, voluntary organisations and environmental projects over its lifetime.

Barnsdale is one of two solar energy projects that OnPath Energy is undertaking in Yorkshire, with work due to start at the Common Farm Solar Park near Dinnington in South Yorkshire in the coming weeks.

The start of construction work proper is always a key moment in any project, but with Barnsdale being OnPath’s first solar energy generation site, it’s an especially important landmark for us.

“It will deliver a wide range of environmental, ecological, energy security and social benefits to local communities and the wider region and is our latest step towards achieving the company’s ambition of becoming the UK’s leading land-based renewable energy developer.”

Martin Kellerman, construction director at OnPath Energy.

Cllr James Lewis adds: “Renewable energy projects like this are vital to our future energy security and to reducing our reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

“We welcome that this project will also bring benefits to the local community, both through the increase in biodiversity and the additional funding to support local groups.”

Local residents, businesses, and community groups can find out more about the Barnsdale Solar Energy Park by visiting www.onpathenergy.com/barnsdale