Plans to erect an $18 million solar farm in St George’s have been submitted to the Department of Planning.

The application from IMG Holdings, received this week, proposed a 20-acre solar facility with about 20,000 solar cells installed on land to the east of Ferry Reach Park.

The project would be similar in size and scale to the solar farm erected on a disused runway at LF Wade International Airport and generate six megawatts of electricity – equivalent to the power used a year by about 1,100 homes.

The island's total annual electricity usage is around 115MW.

Nalton Brangman, a former OBA senator and Minister of Education, is listed as one of the project’s owners alongside engineer Patrick Caton.

Application documents said that the proposed development is located above the Belco lines that provide electricity for St George’s, and that meetings about connecting the solar farm to the grid there have taken place in 2019 and 2020.

The application said that the solar array had an estimated economic life of between 20 and 25 years.

If planning and regulatory approval is granted, the project is expected to take between nine months and a year to bring to life including site clearing and installation.

The application documents said: “The proposed plan to ensure the full setback from the defined boundary to prevent any disturbance to users of the park.

“The site will have to be fenced, as a legal requirement. There should not be a major impact on the park as the development will be inside the defined space of the owned and leased property.”

The application also said the plans would not impact the Railway Trail, which runs to the north of the property, or the airport.

The document said: “Solar arrays have already become the norm at a growing number of airports around the world.”

The site will require regular maintenance, including rust proofing and cleaning of the solar panels.