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Welcome to the

Aithrie solar project website

Proposal for a Solar farm and energy system

Ampyr Solar Europe submitted proposals for a solar farm and energy storage system, situated near Newton in West Lothian on 14th December 2023.  The planning application was consented by West Lothian Council’s Development Management Committee on Wednesday 20th March 2024.  We aim to have the project operational and supplying power by mid-2025.

Its development as a solar farm will be a major step towards a sustainable future for a growing city.  The latest versions of the site design can be found on the project update page, but early stage proposals can be seen on the information boards shown at the community consultation event:

Please click here to view the community consultation information boards.

The project will be able to supply the electricity needs of 10,400 homes per year (updated for 2022 usage data)

The clean energy generated will save on average 15,100 tonnes of carbon per year

AMPYR is exploring supplying cheap power to major local power users

Biodiversity is a key aspect of detailed project design

Community consultation

We submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to West Lothian Council on 27th September 2022 to start the important process of engaging with the local community while we continued our investigations and detailed designs.  We subsequently held a consultation meeting on Wednesday 9th November 2022 at Newton Community Centre followed by meetings with the Newton Community Council and local residents.  The proposals have been through several design iterations and the final site design can be seen on the ‘Project Update’ tab.

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Ampyr Solar Europe is a highly experienced developer and operator of solar and battery storage projects

This project represents one of five renewable energy projects being developed in Scotland by this international group. The commitment of Scottish Government and local communities to a zero-carbon future has been key to attracting this investment.

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