A huge solar farm in Somerset has been bought by Kent County Council as part of its drive to meet its target of radically reducing carbon emissions.

The 94-acre site is said to have cost £14 million and has been acquired on behalf of the county council by LASER Energy, set up by KCC to act as its energy procurement arm.

KCC says the farm will massively reduce carbon emissions while saving energy costs.

The Bowerhouse II Solar Farm, recently built by Ethical Power Ltd, has the capacity for 39,312 panels and will provide 22,000 megawatt hours of green electricity to the grid a year.

The money has come from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, (PSDS) which provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.

The farm is expected to contribute to about 30% of KCC’s Net Zero carbon reduction target.

Cllr Susan Carey, KCC’s cabinet member for environment, said: “This new solar farm will reduce our carbon footprint by 30% and make significant savings on our electricity costs for years to come.”

Cllr Antony Hook, the Liberal Democrat group leader at KCC, said he wanted more details about the financing arrangements.

The issue of solar farms has proved controversial despite their green energy credentials, with some communities voicing concern about the scale of some proposals.

Last year, the government gave the green light to the UK's biggest solar park – boasting 880,000 panels – to be built in the Kent countryside.

The Secretary of State for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy rubber-stamped plans for the mammoth 900-acre project in Graveney, between Faversham and Whitstable.

The Somerset farm will be managed by Ethical Power Ltd, which has been appointed to run the operations and maintenance contract.