A NEW £1.2 million solar farm is now open on the former St Michael's Golf Course in Widnes.

Halton Borough Council has completed construction of the one megawatt solar farm which contains more than 3,000 panels and will generate approximately 850,000kwh of electricity a year.

The farm is connected via a private wire to the DCBL Stadium Halton which will use approximately 45 per cent of the energy generated, with the remainder exported to the grid.

St Michael's Golf Course was first closed in 2004 on advice from the Health Protection Agency after arsenic was found in the ground.

The site was cleaned up thanks to £2.47 million of funding from the Department Of Environment, Food And Rural Affairs.

The council is now considering extending the new farm, which was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and connecting it to the new leisure centre which will be on Moor Lane.

Cllr Stef Nelson, the council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said: "I am delighted that the solar farm is up and running and generating reusable energy for the stadium.

Runcorn and Widnes World:

"This project is the latest in a number of renewable energy schemes previously implemented by the council.

"It has enabled us to bring back into use a brownfield site, support our ongoing ambitions to reduce the council’s carbon footprint and help to reduce the running costs of the stadium so we can redirect funding to frontline services.

"I’d like to thank our contractors, Absolute and Horizon, for their knowledge and expertise in bring this project to fruition."

The farm was designed and built by Scottish company, Absolute Solar and Wind, and the council was provided with technical, commercial and project management support from Horizon Power and Energy Ltd, based in Southampton.

Ernie Shelton, director at Horizon Power and Energy, said: "This project is a great illustration of how local authorities and businesses can use underutilized land to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint."

Tom Newall, from Absolute Solar and Wind, added: "We were proud to be a part of this challenging project and construct a solar farm on contaminated ground with a 2km high voltage private wire cable run through the public highway back to the stadium."