Our proposals

Packington Landfill site closed in 2015 after 50 years of operations. Once the busiest landfill site in Europe, holding around 35 million tonnes of waste, it was the first landfill site to create electricity from landfill gas. The site has since been restored back to nature, with large areas of grasslands, planting and wetlands.

The proposal for solar focuses on 8 hectares of restored landfill in a low lying (low visibility) area of the north-east part of the site, representing around 6% of the total area. The site already has a grid connection as part of its existing infrastructure, which captures the gas created as the landfill waste decomposes and turns it into electricity. Landfill gas production decreases over time once a landfill site closes and the spare capacity in the electricity connection could be filled with power created from renewable solar energy, within an area of high demand for power and an already constrained grid.

The proposed solar development will generate around 6,117MWh of renewable electricity annually. According to Ofgem, a typical British household consumes around 2.7MWh per year and so this development would provide the equivalent power required by more than 2,265 homes.

The closed landfill site lies within green belt, however the area identified for solar is of low visibility from outside the site. Whilst the site has been capped and restored to grassland, it is of relatively poor quality for any agricultural use.

Brixworth Landfill site closed in 2002. The site has since been restored to grassland for grazing.

The proposal for solar focuses on 6 hectares in a low lying (low visibility) area of the eastern part of the site, representing around 30% of the total area. The site already has an existing grid export connection as part of its existing infrastructure, which captures the gas created as the landfill waste decomposes and turns it into electricity. Landfill gas production decreases over time once a landfill site closes and the spare capacity in the electricity connection could be filled with power created from renewable solar energy, within an area of high demand for power and an already constrained grid.

The land identified for solar is on a low-lying area of the restored site, which is well screened by existing trees and hedges.

The proposed solar development will generate around 6,104MWh of renewable electricity annually. According to Ofgem, a typical British household consumes around 2.7MWh per year and so this development would provide the equivalent power required by more than 2,260 homes.

The landfill site near Seghill in Northumberland was progressively restored back to agricultural use, with the final areas closed and restored in 2011/12. Landfill restoration is not a particularly good fit with agricultural restoration, so SUEZ have worked with the planning authority to change various parts of the site to more conservation-led restoration which includes lots of biodiversity initiatives, ranging from red squirrel feeders to beehives. The site is also now home to an education centre with a nature trail around these areas.

The landfill site as a whole lies within green belt and the proposal for solar development focuses on an area of around 8 hectares in the oldest areas at the northern end of the site, where poor drainage restricts its use. The area is low lying and represents around 16% of the overall site area. SUEZ propose to import clean soils into the site (above the capped areas) as part of the proposal to improve drainage as part of the works.

The site already has a grid connection as part of its existing infrastructure, which captures the gas created as the landfill waste decomposes and turns it into electricity. Landfill gas production decreases over time once a landfill site closes and the spare capacity in the electricity connection could be filled with power created from renewable solar energy, within an area of high demand for power and an already constrained grid.

The proposed solar development will generate around 6,837MWh of renewable electricity annually. According to Ofgem, a typical British household consumes around 2.7MWh per year and so this development would provide the equivalent power required by more than 2,532 homes.