Chief Executive & Founder of proposed Solar Farm on Romney Marsh named in Paradise Papers

Updated 16 Feb – @ 16:00

The company behind the proposed South East Energy Park on Romney Marsh, Low Carbon, have links to the offshore tax haven of Jersey. Their Chief Executive & Founder is named in the Paradise Papers. However, they are in good company as SNRG Ltd, the approved company to build out the Solar Farm at Otterpool Park, by Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s Cabinet, are owned offshore in Luxembourg. 

South East Energy Park is a proposed 600 hectare site, or 1482 acres; which is equivalent to 926 standard size FA football pitches. The site is located near the village of Old Romney within the Folkestone and Hythe District. The area available for development includes land to the north and south of the A259 between Brenzett to the northwest of the site and New Romney to the east. 

The company behind the proposed South East Energy Park, is Low Carbon. The company was established in 2011, by its current Chief Executive Roy Barry Bedlow (pictured). Mr Bedlow is named in the Paradise Papers and linked to companies in the corporate tax haven of Jersey. However, Low Carbon are ultimately owned by the Oxygen House Group and the ultimate controlling party is Dr Mark James Dixon who founded the company in November 2012. He is Oxygen’s largest shareholder, with a 98.4% stake. 

Moving on, the amount of electricity anticipated to be generated by Low Carbon’s  proposed South Kent Energy Park is 500 megawatts (MW). This means the project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP); which requires the company to submit an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). Low Carbon anticipate submitting their application at the end of 2026. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, will decide whether to award consent. Subject to achieving consent they anticipate construction would start in 2029.

Low Carbon have produced an interactive map of all their renewable energy sites and can be seen by clicking this link ⇒ here. The maps shows they are an international company who have experience of installing these types of renewable energy

• Solar
• Wind
• Battery storage
• Waste to energy
• Low Carbon Offices

And here is a map of all renewable energy sources in the UK as 5 July 2024.

Of course, building one of the largest solar farms in the UK on Romney Marsh, has upset a good number of those who live there. This has led to the creation of local action groups, including “Hands Off Our Marsh” and “Marsh Watch,” amongst others. Members of these groups argue that the proposed solar farm will lead to the “destruction” of Romney Marsh’s unique character and biodiversity. They are right to question the proposed solar farm, as the devil is always in the detail. That said, there are many myths about Solar Farms which when looked at do not stand up to scrutiny. Also the RSPB and Cambridge University shows how management of Solar Farms can benefit wildlife. 

Cllr Paul Thomas (Ind – pictured) one of the two Cllrs for the New Romney Ward, and whose ward is not directly affected by the proposed Solar Farm, raised the question “What impact is it going to have on agriculture and agricultural jobs across the Marsh?”  and added “I’m a keen supporter of nuclear, for me it’s nuclear first, but of course we have to look at any form of renewable energy.” This is hardly suprising as Romney Marsh, and in particular, Dungeness, has long been associated with nuclear power since construction on Dungeness A nuclear power station commenced in July 1960.

There are solar farms already active in the district. One just outside our district can be found in Sellindge, at Partridge Farm (orange below); which has been active for the last nine years. On this site, sheep graze, flowers grow, birds nest and bumblebees and butterflies frequent. It is a well managed site and has been since the site went live in March 2016. Biodiversity on the site has increased. There is no evidence Low Carbon won’t manage their proposed site in a similar way.

Romney  Marsh is approxiamately 100sq miles, or 25,900 hectare, the loss of 2% of farmland will not mean we’ll go hungry. However, the argument put forward that it will lead to the “destruction” of Romney Marsh’s unique character, is another matter.

All we’ll say is, we wish the companies behind these two solar farm projects, SNRG Ltd at Otterpool, and Low Carbon on Romney Marsh, were onshore rather than offshore, as we need all the tax we can get, just ask a pensioner.

There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. The inclusion of a person or entity in this blog post is not intended to suggest or imply that they have engaged in illegal or improper conduct. 

The Shepway Vox Team

Not owned by hedgefunds or Barons