The King is set to supply electricity to the National Grid after being given planning permission for a solar farm at his Sandringham Estate.
According to plans lodged with King’s Lynn and West Norfolk council, 2,000 solar panels are to be placed on horse grazing paddocks across 2.3 hectares of the estate’s land.
The panels will provide 2.1MW of energy, 1.9MW of which will be used by Sandringham House, the visitor centre and the Sawmill, leaving 200KW to be returned to the UK’s systems operator.
With the farm having an expected operational lifespan of 40 years, it could see the monarch providing zero-carbon energy to the grid for several decades.
Plans state that the site will also be hidden from Sandringham’s 500,000 annual tourists, as the location – which is grass-covered and enclosed by tall trees along two of its boundaries – would be “visually contained” by “existing development and mature vegetation”.
“The well-screened nature of the site and modest scale of the development means the majority of these visitors would not be aware of the proposed solar array,” the planning application states.
The solar panels will be no taller than 11ft, made from toughened glass and mounted on a steel framework set at an angel of 25 degrees and facing south.
Addressing energy needs of estate
A hybrid power system unit is also to be installed, which would be painted green to match the colour of nearby sheds.
The move comes two years after a smaller array of panels was installed on the roof of Sandringham House.
“The proposed development forms part of the estate’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and promoting environmental practices and follows the installation of a small solar array to the roof of Sandringham House in 2022,” the application said.
“The proposed array would help to address the energy needs of the estate in a sustainable and carbon neutral manner,” it added.
Though planning permission has been granted for the solar farm, work can only start when a written scheme of investigation has been submitted to and approved by the local planning authority.
The Royal family has not publicly commented on the Sandringham plan, but the King speaks often about the importance of sustainability and protecting the environment.