Welcome to the proposed Aveley Solar Park Development

The expansion of solar energy development in the UK is a fundamental requirement to help the UK achieve its Net Zero objectives. With the sun providing enough daily energy to power the world 10,000 times over, solar power is a globally abundant resource. There is currently 14GW of solar capacity in the UK - with ambitious targets to increase solar capacity fivefold by 2035.

Infinis Solar Developments Ltd is looking to support the UK’s Net Zero strategy. As part of the strategy, we will apply for planning permission to construct a solar park on an area of restored landfill in Aveley, South Ockendon, Essex. Aveley Solar Park is projected to generate 17,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy per year - enough to power over 4,200 homes.

This website is intended to provide you with the opportunity to understand the proposed development in more detail, as we work towards making a formal planning application in late 2023.

If you still have any unanswered questions after browsing this website, please get in touch through the Contact Us section.

View or comment on our submitted planning application:
https://regs.thurrock.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=S8E6CHQGKD800&activeTab=summary

About Us

Infinis Solar Developments Limited is part of the Infinis Group.

Infinis is the UK’s leading generator of low carbon power from captured methane. We capture methane gas from landfill sites and disused coal mines and convert it to electricity.

Our sustainable energy expertise includes solar power and battery energy storage technology. This work helps to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change, and provides secure, efficient local power generation.

Health, safety and environmental protection is the foundation of our business.  Infinis has been awarded the British Safety Council award for 14 consecutive years and the ROSPA Gold award for 15 consecutive years, giving us the very special Order of Distinction.

Being a good neighbour is a key part of how we operate. We also believe in the importance of giving back to our local communities and have provided funds and employee time to over 150 local and national charities.
 

Our Vision

Why build Aveley Solar Park?

The Government is encouraging ground-mounted solar projects on brownfield sites across the UK, to achieve national Net Zero carbon objectives by 2050.

The UK Government's Net Zero Strategy proposes that by 2035, the UK will be powered entirely by clean electricity. That will not just eliminate the carbon emissions from generating power; it will also provide greater security over our energy supplies, and help address the issues of price volatility and fuel poverty.

The 2022 British Energy Security Strategy set out plans for a five-fold increase in solar power generation. There will also be increasing reliance on new and emerging technologies - including carbon capture, battery storage, hydrogen and biofuels.

Faced with the current crisis of the security and cost of our energy supplies and the urgent need to decarbonise the energy system, it is vital that opportunities to quickly deliver renewable energy generation are taken. Solar is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation and is readily deployed at scale.

Solar parks produce clean, renewable energy with no emissions and almost no noise. Sunlight is a long-term, free resource and it's reliable - even in the UK! By using sunlight to generate electricity, we avoid extracting any precious or finite resources. Solar is the cleanest form of energy generation and has zero carbon emissions from operation.

Proposals to decarbonise the transport and heat sectors will double demand for electricity and therefore the UK needs flexible, resilient power now, more than ever.

Avoiding sensitive ecological designation - such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, SSSI, Ramsar (wetland) sites and wildlife reserves - offers an opportunity to deliver ecological enhancements and Biodiversity Net Gain. No designated heritage assets, including listed buildings, registered parklands and scheduled monuments would be affected by the proposed development.

Infinis at Aveley

Infinis already generates low-carbon power on this site, through landfill gas capture. While the site is closed to new waste, the existing waste below ground gradually decomposes. As waste decomposes it generates methane, which Infinis captures through a series of wells across the site. The methane is then used as a fuel source to generate renewable electricity.

Adding the solar park above ground means we can increase the amount of zero carbon energy we produce from a single site, while using some of our existing equipment.

Benefits

Proposed solar park

The proposed development will comprise the construction, operation and maintenance of a ground-mounted solar park with associated infrastructure.

The solar panels would be mounted on specially-designed metal frames and not penetrate the landfill cap. They will be laid out in straight arrays; the site design is informed by the topography on the site. The top of the panels would be up to a maximum of 3.5m above ground level, and the lower edges of the panels would be a minimum of 0.7 meters above ground level.

Development would also include elements of landscape, ecological and biodiversity benefits.  It is proposed that land between and beneath the panels would be used for biodiversity enhancements.
The construction of the solar park will take around 6 to 9 months.

Careful design and management will mean that the construction of this project will not unacceptably impact on the daily lives of the local communities.

At the end of the life of the solar park the equipment will be removed, and the site returned to the landowner.


Key benefits
 
  • Aveley Solar Park will be capable of generating enough green electricity to power approximately 4,200 households each year (*1)
  • The scheme would displace more than 100,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions, compared to grid electricity sourced from fossil fuels (*2)
  • Our innovative approach of developing on landfill, ensures that other greenfield local spaces and agricultural land are kept free and available.

We will add relevant updates to this website as our application progresses.

If you have any questions that are not answered on this site, please refer to the Contact Us page for details on how to reach Infinis.


*1. Estimated households powered figure is calculated using the forecast energy generation yield and mean domestic consumption across the local authorities of Thurrock in 2021, as published in the Government's Subnational Electricity Consumption Statistics
*2. Calculated based on National Grid data on carbon intensity of our power generation mix between July 2022 and July 2023

Contact Us

Project updates and answers to questions

We are holding a public exhibition at Aveley Community Hub, High Street, RM15 4BX on 28 September 2023, from 2.00pm to 7.00pm. 

This event will give local people an opportunity to review the proposals and ask our Development Team any questions about the scheme. This will also be a chance to provide written feedback on the proposals before a formal planning application is submitted.

Further key milestones and relevant updates will be posted on this site.


Any feedback?

Your questions and feedback are very important to us. You can contact our team using any of the methods below.

Infinis
First Floor, 500 Pavilion Drive
Northampton Business Park
Northampton
NN4 7YJ

https://www.infinis.com