Two solar farms at Horton near Wimborne will be decided by Dorset Council planners next week.
A 30MW scheme at Woodlands Manor Farm and a smaller 20MW scheme at North Farm have met with more than a hundred local objections, with a small number in favour.
Some of those against the proposals question the need to build the sites in an area of designated Green Belt with important landmarks nearby including the Horton Tower when, alternative, brownfield sites are likely to be available.
Concerns have also been raised about additional traffic during the construction phase, the impact on wildlife and the loss of agricultural land.
Weighed against this is the availability of the land and a relatively straightforward connection to the Mannington electric substation, although connection routes have yet to be finalised.
Dorset councillors meeting next Thursday, 1st May, are being told by planning officers that the sites are acceptable in scale and likely impact on the area – given the ‘significant contribution’ to renewable energy needs.
They say the ‘harm’ of the projects is outweighed by the public benefits.
Some opponents say despite the acknowledged need for ‘home-grown’ power, Dorset is already taking more than its ‘fair share’ of solar developments with no direct benefit to the county.
The smaller, 30 hectare site has the Cranborne Chase National Landscape immediately to the west with several Sites of Special Scientific Interest, including heathland, nearby.
Access to the site would be from Horton Road to the south on a road shared with North Farm.
The ground-mounted solar panels, if approved, will be capable of producing up to 20MW of energy over a period of 40 years, with the site plans including inverter and transformer units, switchgear and boundary fencing with a CCTV system.
National Grid connection will be via an underground cable to the Mannington substation, one of only two in Dorset capable of meeting extra demand.
The application for the larger, 61 hectare site, is broadly similar with a connection also proposed to Mannington and access from Horton Road from the west.
Near the site is the Remedy Oak Golf Club to the west and the Riversides Lakes Camping and Caravan site to the south east with the Cranborne Chase National Landscape less than 400metres away at its nearest point.
The connection route for both developments is likely to be the subject of separate planning proposals later this year.