Solar panels could be built on an unused part of a quarry, to help provide power for the rest of the site.
Longwater Gravel has applied to Norfolk County Council for permission to install the 126kW array of ground-mounted solar panels on land at Horstead Quarry, off Buxton Road.
The array would be built on a 1,581 m² section of the site, where materials had been previously quarried and which has now been left to seed.
Documents lodged with County Hall state that the energy generated – for a period of up to 40 years – would be used to power machinery at the quarry, near Coltishall.
In the supporting documents, the consultants for the company state: "The availability to utilise energy from a renewable and sustainable source ensures the survival and enablement of progression of a local business.
"With the increased energy costs which have been felt across the board, the introduction of self-sufficient measure is a positive and driving force for seeking energy security in uncertain times."
The consultants said solar panels had been chosen as being the "most effective way" to produce energy, with the "least impact on upon the environment and local community".
They said the solar array would be "lost" within the landscape, because of existing screening and the background setting of the quarry.
UK Power Networks has said it has no objection to the proposal, but Broadland District Council's environmental health officer has tabled a holding objection, until further information is provided.
They want confirmation that a battery energy storage system will not be installed and have requested extra detail including what will happen to excess energy generated by the panels when the site is not operational and the specifications for the proposed solar invertors.
A decision on whether to grant planning permission will be taken in due course.
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