PLANS to create solar farm to help a natural gas storage operator become more carbon neutral have been given the green light.

Storengy UK Ltd applied to Cheshire West and Chester Council for permission to build the renewable energy installation at its Stublach site near Byley, where the company owns and operates the country's largest underground gas storage facility.

Once installed, the proposed solar farm would produce 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of electricity for the Drakelow Lane site.

As part of the company's application, a design and access statement said: "Storengy UK Ltd has a vision of being ‘carbon neutral by 2025’.

"Installing a ground mounted solar array on their Stublach site is one of the steps to achieve this goal.

"The solar array will generate up to 1.8 GWh per year of electrical power to displace the grid electricity supplied to the site."

The planned solar farm will consist of 4,500, 500-watt ground-mounted solar collectors, installed on land currently used as a car park and laydown area.

The statement adds this will provide 'a non-polluting and sustainable energy source' which would 'enable Storengy to reduce its electrical baseload usage of grid electricity'.

In his report recommending approval, the council officer said: "It is considered the development would not result in harm of the open countryside.

"There would be no unacceptable harm to visual, residential amenity or highway safety having regard to the relevant development plan policies."

Planning permission was granted earlier this month, subject to compliance of a number of conditions.

These include beginning the development within the next three years and completing it is accordance with the approved plans.

Once up and running, Storengy must provide the council with measurements on radio emissions from the array to ensure it does not impair the efficiency of nearby Jodrell Bank.