ENERGY chiefs have allowed The Bolton News behind the scenes at the borough's biggest solar farm.

The new 18,000 solar panel facility will powers the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority’s Over Hulton waste recycling centre — with the surplus electricity being fed back into the national grid.

Work began on the £2 million project in April this year and the plant is expected to be up and running by the end of July.

At its full capacity, the array of 18,000 photovoltaic panels will be able to produce two megawatts of power — which is enough to power more than 600 homes for an entire year.

GMWDA first got permission for the project in 2013 and contractors Styles and Wood Energy have designed and built most of the facility.

The authority has now gone back to Bolton Council to ask for permission for some small adjustments that will allow it to fit more panels on the site and create even more energy.

Mark Newall is GMWDA’s director of resources and strategy, he said: “Everyone is really happy with what is going on here.

“The residents living nearby are pleased — we held liaison groups and people jumped at the idea of a solar farm when it was first suggested.

“The panels are all facing away from the houses and we haven’t had a single objection.

“It meets our own green ideas very well, so it is very much a win win.”

The authority has a green environment strategy and one of the targets is for a 48 per cent carbon reduction in Greater Manchester by 2020.

Mr Newall added: “This is another important piece of the jigsaw in terms of meeting that target.”

While residents familiar with the Bolton climate may question the wisdom of a solar farm in the borough, the project’s engineering manager, Michael Kelly, explained that the solar farm is not reliant on sunny weather.

He said: “Of course sunshine is good but photovoltaic panels actually work using blue skies as well, so they can be generating power on a cloudy day, which is good news.

“It is quite a simple idea and we have lined each row of panels up to exact measurements, meaning they will have maximum efficiency.”

The solar array forms part of GMWDA’s masterplan vision for the Salford Road site, working in unison with the household recycling plant and the IVC facility.

Mr Kelly said: “It is our biggest asset — we are now looking at other areas to potentially build solar farms, so this could be a blueprint for the future.”

Tonge with The Haulgh councillor Elaine Sherrington, who sits on the GMWDA board as a chair of the resources committee, said: “I am very glad that such an excellent facility has come to the Bolton area.

“From an environmental point of view this is clearly the way forward to create energy from the environment.

“We are very aware of the environmental impact that waste has and we are looking at any things we can utilise to make more energy.”