A RENEWABLE energy firm has revealed a plan to site a solar farm capable of powering 1,290 homes near a village mentioned in the Domesday Book.

The 5Mw scheme at Cold Harbour Farm, Sessay, near Thirsk is the second large-scale solar farm proposal to be unveiled in Hambleton district this year, following a 7.4Mw proposal using 29,528 1.6m by 1m photovoltaic panels across fields used for sheep grazing at Ainderby Steeple, near Northallerton.

Recent technology improvements have meant more of the sun’s rays can be captured further north, and coupled with lower land rents, the availability of grid connections and scarcity of suitable sites elsewhere, solar farm firms are increasingly looking at sites in North Yorkshire.

Lightsource Renewable Energy wants to install about 20,000 panels across a 24-acre site, which would reach a height of 2.5m and be screened by trees.

The firm said the scheme would make the equivalent carbon savings of taking 491 cars off the road for the life of the solar farm, which would be between 25 and 30 years.

A Lightsource spokesman said as well as providing a source of clean energy, the solar farm could also become a haven for wildlife.

He added: "A typical solar farm only takes up 30 per cent of the allocated land and the entire site will be seeded with species-rich grass throughout, including the areas oversailed by panels, providing opportunities for the farm’s sheep to graze or free-range chickens to roam."

While it has many similarities to the scheme proposed by farmers Stuart Charlton and Philip Sanderson at Ainderby Steeple, it is thought the Sessay proposal could generate less opposition from residents, as it would not be visible from the village.

Some Ainderby Steeple residents said the solar farm would be an eyesore and that house prices in the village would fall by up 15 per cent.

A decision on the Ainderby Steeple scheme, which has been delayed for several months as the quality of the agricultural land has been assessed, is set to be decided by Hambleton District Council next month.

Earlier this year, energy and climate change minister Greg Barker said solar firms' ambition must be matched by a greater sensitivity to impacts on landscape, visual amenity and biodiversity.

Sessay and Hutton Sessay Parish Council chairman John MacPherson said he understood the need for renewable energy projects and had an open mind on the proposal.

He said: "It needs to be judged on its merits, it has to happen somewhere."