The Project

Community benefits and Biodiversity Net Gain

As part of our proposals for Lime Down Solar Park, we will support surrounding communities and deliver benefits to the local environment.

Community benefits 

Island Green Power offers a community benefits package with the renewable energy schemes that it promotes.  

We believe those communities living closest to the proposed Project should benefit from it – with these communities being best placed to recommend what a ‘community benefit’ should be. 

This is why we invited your ideas and suggestions on this point during our first stage of consultation (in March – April 2024) and our second stage (in January – March 2025). We extend our sincere thanks to all those who submitted feedback on this and let us know their views on what kind of benefits (both onsite and offsite) would be most suitable for the area. 

Some of your suggestions made during our Stage One consultation included: 

  • Ongoing community funding to provide annual revenue for local projects and facilities, such as local churches and major sports projects (e.g. in Chippenham). 

  • Engagement with the community regarding ecological mitigation and enhancement options. 

  • Direct benefits for the local community through access to domestic solar panels and/or reduced energy costs. 

  • Development of wildflower areas to support education for school children, along with wildlife/pollinator corridors to improve biodiversity. 

  • Funding for active travel between communities, including shared and dedicated pedestrian routes to nearby towns and signage for public footpaths/routes (e.g. for a Gastard Nature walk). 

We are continuing to investigate potential on-site and off-site initiatives we could support during the lifespan of the Project.  

  • On-site initiatives could be mitigation and enhancement measures inherent within the design of the Project and could include the protection of existing ecological and environmental features, such as woodland, hedgerows and ponds, provision of biodiversity net gain (e.g. through wildflower meadows), or the creation of permissive paths through the site. 

  • We would also like to support off-site initiatives that involve broader community support and are outside of the immediate vicinity of the Project. Examples include a designated ‘Community Benefit Fund’ which could support local charities, groups and educational programmes. Initiatives could also include the provision of solar PV for educational facilities, domestic installations and improvements to existing community initiatives. 

We recognise that there is no firm guidance on community benefits and levels of funding. This aspect of our proposals for the Project will continue to evolve, both in response to industry/government-level guidance and your suggestions. For example, the Project could provide funding on an annual basis, proportionate to the Project’s capacity, for the Project’s 60-year lifespan. 

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) 

A well-managed solar farm can be a nature reserve – helping boost and protect wildlife and extend biodiversity.

As the panels are set on posts with minimal disturbance to the ground, much of the land is available to support new plants and animal life.  

From November 2025, there will be a legal requirement for developers of NSIP projects to show their projects will boost biodiversity by a minimum 10 per cent. This means our plans need to ensure that local wildlife habitats are in a measurably better state than before. Lime Down Solar Park could boost local biodiversity through means such as establishing wildflower areas that provide habitats for pollinators and birds, promoting wetland habitats to reduce flood risk and support aquatic and avian life, and restoring hedgerows and native species.  

To achieve a biodiversity net gain, our plans should ensure that local wildlife habitats are in a measurably better state than before. We aim to exceed the baseline requirement for developers to boost biodiversity by a minimum 10 per cent, by proposing measures such as:  

  • Delivering substantial new hedgerow and tree planting; 

  • Reinforcing planting at existing hedgerow and field boundaries; 

  • Extensive grassland habitat creation; 

  • Managing grassland habitats under solar PV panels by using a balance of grazing and cutting to maximise ecological benefits; and 

  • Providing enhancement opportunities for habitats of local, regional or national significance.