Renewable energy firm Enviromena has secured planning permission for a solar farm on a 90-acre site in Somerset.

The company said when the project in Horsey near Bridgwater is fully operational it could produce enough energy to power around 9,750 average-sized homes a year, and offset approximately 6,500 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The structure, which will be located close to junction 23 of the M5 motorway, will comprise more than 45,000 solar panels with a capacity of 24 MW of power and will generate more than 28,000 MW hours of energy per annum.

The project is Enviromena’s second UK development to achieve planning permission in the last 12 months, with the firm saying it was “one of several” solar developments it has sold to Blackfinch Energy, part of Gloucestershire-based investment firm Blackfinch Group.

Enviromena’s chief executive Cabell Fisher said: “I am delighted that we have secured another planning permission in the UK for this highly bankable renewable project in Somerset and it follows in the wake of several other successful solar projects the Enviromena team has delivered in Europe in the last 12 months.

“Projects like this one will be critical to support the UK Government’s recent initiatives to implement more renewable solutions on the national grid and to bring down the cost of energy for industry and consumers alike.

Enviromena has more than 1GW of active solar farms and battery energy storage systems in development and operation throughout the UK and Europe.

It is currently progressing plans to bring a multimillion-pound battery storage facility to a site near Blyth in Northumberland.

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