VAST swathes of land have been identified as suitable for wind and solar power in the latest Dorset Local Plan proposals.

Sites have also been looked at for possible battery storage facilities.

Dorset Council say National Landscape designations and Sites of Special Scientific Interest would not, necessarily, rule out energy proposals in those areas, although all the 'opportunity' sites identified would need detailed planning consent.

Few areas across the county have been specifically ruled out for future energy use with the exception of operational airports and airfields.

Among the constraining factors is access to the National Grid with the county's power network having limited capacity, at the moment mainly restricted to connection points at Chickerell and Mannington.

Until the recent Masters Quarry turbines came into use the county has had no large turbines but 'opportunity sites' have now been identified in the plan broadly between Dorchester and Poole and to the north of Bournemouth towards the the Dorset-Hampshire border for turbines of between 100 and 150metres at blade tip height.

The solar map for medium sites

Far more areas are included for medium turbines of between 60 and 100metres with much of the county likely to be open for smaller turbines of between 25 and 60m blade tip height.

Potential sites for medium scale (5-20 hectare) solar sites include the same swathe of land between Dorchester and Poole, excluding Purbeck; and another band in the north of the county.

The same northern area is includes on the map for battery storage sites up to 1GW with a second band from Crossways skirting around Poole up towards Verwood and Three Legged Cross area.

Comments on the proposals in the Local Plan can be made until mid-October.

Further information about the Local Plan proposals can be found at –

https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-is-changing