I read recently that a company called Susenco (The Sustainable Energy Company) from Oxford is apparently seeking planning permission to turn 72 acres of rural greenbelt farmland near Berwick, East Sussex, an area of outstanding natural beauty at the foot of the South Downs, into a solar-panelled eyesore at Batbrooks Farm, with 45,000 solar panels which will be more than 8ft high.

It is to be called (if successful) Berwick Solar Park, but it’s not the type of park that you can take the kids to, so the word “park” is only there to give an illusion of tranquillity.

I understand that this proposed solar farm would produce around 16MW of electricity, enough to supply 6,000 homes.

This suggests that this proposal is necessary because, at present, 6,000 home in the area are without electricity, or perhaps there will be 6,000 more homes to be built in the field next door.

These latest technological solar panels do not require sunlight to function; mere daylight is enough, as apparently stated by Susenco.

However, simple arithmetic would result in a bottom-line that it’s pitch black for a little more than 50% of our year. So being less than 50% productive is illogical and backward.

These so-called “solar parks” and “wind farms”, which are generally not fit for purpose, do nothing more than desecrate and ruin the local environment, not only for locals who have to suffer the upheaval, but also walkers who will have to suffer the sight in the middle of the lower Weald.

City-dwellers may not be too bothered about the way our countryside looks and that’s fine, but it also belongs to them and they are also paying for the creeping institutional vandalistic destruction of our rural areas which they may someday wish to visit, so this madness does affect us all.

We are all paying for this and, very soon, it may come to a field or an open space near you.

The only proper way forward is nuclear power, or to revert back to the coal this nation was built upon. With today’s technology in carbon filtration, this should be considered before despoiling our countryside.

Also, it’s worth considering that the UK contributes to about 1.75% of the world’s total Co2 emissions, while China, America, the EU (excluding the UK), Russia and India account for around 66%.

But here in the UK we are being led like sheep in the desecration of our countryside at great cost and for no good reason except a nice little earner for companies like Susenco.

Paul Butterfill, Stag Close, Henfield

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