RESIDENTS will get the chance this week to find out more about plans for a large solar energy farm proposed for the green belt close to Fobbing Marshes to the south of Basildon close to Vange.

Enso Energy, through its subsidiary company Rayleigh Green Limited, is proposing to develop a solar panel farm and battery storage facility which would generate up to 49.9MW for distribution to the national grid. This is equivalent to the annual electrical needs of approximately 17,079 family homes.

The battery storage system will supply electricity to the local electricity network at times of peak energy demand and help make the renewable energy output of the solar farm a secure and reliable part of the UK energy supply.

In addition Enso say the anticipated CO2 displacement is around 25,060 tonnes per annum, which represents an emission saving equivalent of a reduction in 8,035 cars on the road every year.

You can find out more about the project via this link.

On Thursday the company will host an online public consultation webinar and Q&A session event between 6 and 8pm.

The webinar will be a ten-minute presentation by the project team where they will outline the draft proposals.

During the Q&A session which will follow the webinar residents will have the opportunity to ask any questions about the draft proposals with members of the project team.

You can sign up for the webinar via this link.

The solar farm at Fobbing is the second currently under consideration in the borough. A large one is planned for Bulphan. Consultation with residents on that closed last week but details of the application can be found here