Eynsham Parish Council has received an update on the Aurora Solar Farm, which is being installed in the Parish and has faced unexpected delays. Encouragingly, many of the issues are now sorted and progress is being made rapidly.
One of the major issues was a delay in having a licence granted by Oxfordshire County Council to allow the team to lay a cable to the grid connection point at Cuckoo Lane. This licence has now been granted and the connection is almost complete.
Meanwhile, the transformer stations experienced unexpected technical problems and there was another delay in waiting for replacement equipment, due to supply chain issues. We have been told that the new equipment has now arrived and is currently being installed.
When these two steps are complete, the site will be energised: this means it will be connected and become operational. It is hoped that this will take place in the final weeks of 2023.
Unfortunately, the delays with this connection phase of the project have resulted in a delay starting the landscaping work around the site and the intended planting did not take place. This phase of the project is now set to be tackled in the first quarter of 2024.
The team recognised that this has been frustrating for our community and have apologised. We hope residents will feel reassured that the project is now progressing and will soon be complete. If we receive any further updates on the solar farm we will share the news via our usual channels.