PLANS have been revealed for a huge 78-acre solar farm near West Kilbride that is almost as big as the village itself.

The proposed solar farm would sit to the east of the village at Lawhill Farm - and would operate for approximately 40 years if approved.

The developer Green Energy International has submitted a scoping report to see whether an Environmental Impact Assessment needs to be carried out.

The site would include ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays alongside a substation, inverter/transformer stations, site accesses, security measures and landscaping enhancements.

The generating station would have an export capacity of up to 49.9MW, which would produce around 107,085MWh of clean renewable electricity every year for distribution to the grid.

The solar panels would be up to three metres off the ground at their highest point, and the inverter/transformer stations would be around 2.6 metres tall.

A proposed substation would be contained within two green containers, each measuring four metres high. The most appropriate location for this is currently being decided.

The site would be surrounded by 2.2 metre high security fencing, which would be located within the existing hedgerows and tree belts to screen the farm.

Around four per cent of the site would be excavated due to underground cabling, internal access roads, inverter/transformer stations, panel frames and the proposed on-site substation.

The applicant states that the development will be seen from some angles in the area, including from houses in West Kilbride.

The document says: “It would not be entirely in keeping for the site to be completely screened as the open landscape nature of the area will have to be protected.

“The terrain may ensure that some elements of the design do not see the development, but some properties may still have visibility.

“The nature of the terrain indicates that the development cannot be hidden, and it will have to be accepted that it is an open environment and the development can be visible from certain angles.”

The company says it is unsure how much glint and glare can be expected from the development, but believes farm properties to the south of the development will be most affected.

It added: “Properties that are south of the development and are facing north face the greatest risk of any impact.

“The largest clusters of buildings are to the south-west on the periphery of West Kilbride but they may not experience the worst glint and glare impacts because of the angle they are situated at.

“It is at this stage of the development inconclusive as to the level that can be expected, and the final opinion can be determined through a specialist assessment.”

The firm says that the noise generated from the site would be 'limited' and is 'unlikely' to be heard by surrounding properties.

The site would be accessed from a farm track leading up to the farmhouse and the road is labelled as “fairly inadequate” by the developer.

It says that the route up to the farm will need to be considered due to the need for HGVs to access the proposed development.

Traffic for the site would also need to go around the centre of the village, which the applicant says would “pose its own issues”.

The full planning application can be found on North Ayrshire Council’s planning portal.