A £1.2 million solar farm built on a former golf course once contaminated with arsenic has started operation in Widnes.
The Halton Council -built facility at the former St Michael’s golf course in Dundalk Road is expected to cut the local authority’s annual carbon footprint by 120 tonnes of CO2, or 1% of last year’s total emissions.
Around 45% of the energy produced by the solar farm is expected to be used by the nearby DCBL Stadium, further reducing the council’s energy bills by around £50,000, with the rest sold to the National Grid to cover the costs of maintaining the facility.
But a report prepared ahead of a council committee meeting next week said the Covid-19 crisis meant the stadium was using less energy than expected and more was being exported to the grid.
Cllr Stef Nelson, the council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said: “I am delighted that the solar farm is up and running and generating reusable energy for the stadium.
“This project is the latest in a number of renewable energy schemes previously implemented by the council.
“It has enabled us to bring back into use a brownfield site, support our ongoing ambitions to reduce the council’s carbon footprint and help to reduce the running costs of the stadium so we can redirect funding to frontline services.”
Keep up to date with local news in your area by adding your postcode below
Part-funded by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund, the solar farm has been built on part of the former St Michael’s golf course, which had to shut down in 2004 after arsenic was discovered in the ground at the site.
The golf course was eventually decontaminated in 2013, with the solar farm initially proposed five years later.
Halton Council expects the solar farm to be in operation for at least 25 years and is now exploring the possibility of using energy generated there to power the new Widnes leisure centre as well as the stadium.
