Construction begins on Oldham's first solar farm

Oldham Council has broken ground on its first full-scale solar farm at Wrigley Head in Failsworth, marking the start of the borough's Green New Deal.

The panels, being installed by Rochdale firm Vital Energi with local suppliers, should begin feeding 830,000 kWh of electricity a year into the grid next spring. That output is enough to run about 310 homes and will be sold to a power company, giving the council its own regular income stream while trimming the town's carbon footprint.

Wrigley Head sits inside the Moston Brook Green Corridor. To keep the site working for wildlife, engineers will plant new trees and wildflowers and have chosen fencing that lets small animals move through unhindered.

Council finance chief Cllr Abdul Jabbar says the scheme is expected to create local jobs and training places, although no exact numbers have been released yet. Oldham West MP Jim McMahon joined councillors on site to praise the pairing of clean energy with habitat care.

If the timetable holds, residents should see the rows of panels finished and generating power by spring 2026, with profits channelled back into council services.