A CLUSTER of 132 solar panels is set to be installed in Hadleigh Country Park as part of plans to make Essex carbon natural.

If approved by Castle Point Council, the plans will contribute to Essex County Council’s target of supplying all its energy from renewable sources by 2040.

The panels will be fixed to Hadleigh Park Cycles office roof and will boast a collective solar capacity of 49.5 kWp.

The move has been welcomed by environmental groups amid calls for the county to step up its response to the climate crisis.

Jon Fuller, group co-ordinator at the South East Essex Friends of the Earth group, said: “It’s not a massive number of solar panels, it’s modest and unintrusive. The fact they will be on a roof is also great, as that means it won’t adversely impact wildlife in any way.

“Often with larger solar developments we lose whole green fields to them, so this is a welcome move.”

He added “We must accept dramatic changes to the way that we obtain our electricity.

“Climate change is an unprecedented crisis, and we have to step up our efforts to move to renewable energy.

“However, we need to accelerate this process and perhaps the invasion of Ukraine has helped to focus minds that we need to get off oil and gas as fast as we can. Wind farms and solar panels are the way to do this.”

The council is seeking a partner to deliver the scheme later this year.

A spokesperson for Essex County Council (ECC) said: “It is proposed to install the solar PV system onto a south-east facing pitched roof and a south facing pitched roof at the country park site. The roofs are plain tiled and are made up of a bike shop and cafe based in the country park.

“The installation of these solar panels would generate energy cost savings as well as reducing carbon emissions across the site. In their lifetime they are expected to save around £170,000 on energy costs, as well as 10,500 kg of Co2 emissions each year.

“The proposal is part of a wider programme to reduce carbon emissions across ECC’s sites.”