SENIOR councillors are set to approve funding of £2.45million for a solar farm in Torfaen which could power nearly 1,000 homes per year.

A business case has been drawn up which estimates the project at the former Ty Coch rubbish tip in Cwmbran will bring an income of £835,736 over its 35-year lifespan.

Generating around 3MW (megawatts) of renewable energy per year, the project will offset around 935 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

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This is the equivalent of 21.1 per cent of carbon dioxide generated from Torfaen council buildings.

It will also provide enough electricity to power 982 homes in Torfaen, and 2.4 per cent of the electricity use of all homes in the borough.

The council is proposing to use a loan from the Public Works Loan Board to cover the costs.

A business case says the project will bring a return of £23,878 per year for the authority, though there will be a “negative cashflow” of around £21,000 for the first six years.

It says the scheme is “a viable invest to save project, albeit over a long term.”

Overall it will cost £2.45million and bring in £835,736 over 35 years.

“This is a modest financial return for the council but with actions to address climate change and the declared climate emergency and an overall cost of achieving those carbon reductions at a cost of £263/tonne CO2e saved, (based on consumer evolution carbon modelling), is a quite considerable mitigation,” a council report says.

“Other mitigating factors that at this stage we cannot put a value to but have become key benefits from carbon reduction projects have been the benefit to reducing local and wider air pollution and the attendant savings on reducing the health impacts of emissions.”

The project will also help meet Welsh Government targets to increase renewable energy sources by 2030.

Planning permission for the solar farm was granted by Torfaen council in October.

Torfaen council’s cabinet will meet on January 7 to consider the business case and approve funding for the project.