A £15million solar farm the size of 20 Principality Stadium pitches will be built in Cardiff after plans were given the green light.
The 42-acre solar farm will be built in the former Lamby Way landfill site and will be able to power around 2,900 homes every year once it is built.
The solar farm will have around 32,000 panels capable of producing an average of 8.99 megawatts of green electricity each year and is planned to have a 35 lifespan.
This is where dozens of new nextbike stations will be in Cardiff
Cardiff council's Planning Committee approved the solar farm on May 15 after concerns raised by Natural Resources Wales that the plans could threaten two species of birds were allayed.
Committee member Cllr Sean Driscoll welcomed the news that disruption to wildlife would be kept at a minimum and said: "It's a good use of the land. It will definitely have long term benefits for the residents of Cardiff."
£15million solar farm in doubt because of birds
Natural Resources Wales had been concerned about the potential disturbance of two species of birds, redshank and dunlin, who roost on the Rhymney River spit alongside the site.
It meant approval for the solar farm plans were delayed for a month but NRW has now withdrawn its concerns.
Cardiff council has agreed with Welsh Water to use 5MW of the green electricity from the solar farm to help power its waste water facility over a 20-year period. The remaining 3.99 Mega Watts of electricity will then be sold to the National Grid.
After the 20-year period has ended, all the green energy generated will be sold to the National Grid for the remaining 15 years of the project.
The council's cabinet will be asked to approve the results of a tender process to build the solar farm at its meeting on May 16.
The preferred contractors are scheduled to be appointed at the end of May, with the majority of the construction on site completed by October 2019. This will allow the commissioning process to take place in November this year.
