Another of the recently articulated grumbles is how these panels will look. On several occasions I have read how farmers are being ‘cold called’ by developers who want to ‘blight’ the country’s beautiful green fields by ‘carpeting them with black silicon slabs’ while poor defenceless farm animals are left with nowhere to graze.
Does the solar panel gold rush really threaten to ruin our countryside?
There is a certain known fact about human beings, and that is that they often find it difficult to cope with change. But what if that change is for good?
Since the introduction of solar power in the UK, many have fought tooth and nail against it, without any concrete evidence to support their negativity. There has been a lot of recent whining in the mainstream press about solar on farmland ‘ruining our countryside’ and ‘wasting taxpayers’ money’ when the facts have undoubtedly not been analysed. Clearly there is a case for solar power on farmland in the UK and it is my intention to set this straight once and for all.
One of the most common complaints against the installation of solar panels on farmland is the weather. And oh, how very ironic it is that there are still those out there who dedicate their time to moaning about something they don’t fully understand. For all of you out there who don’t know, it needs to be stressed: solar photovoltaic power works by using light, and not even necessarily sunlight.
Now while I don’t necessarily agree with every decision the UK Government has made, I do know that they’re not ignorant enough to organise a subsidy payment for a technology which has no hope in this country. Groundwork was done and feasibility studies were carried out to prove that solar was indeed a good idea. To show that they were right, take a look at the recent install figures.
The most successful solar market in the world is located in Germany – that’s right, not Spain, the U.S. or even the Sahara. As we all know, by and large, the weather in Germany is very similar to that in the UK. Germany managed to climb its way to the top spot by introducing a generous enough subsidy and keeping an eye on the possibility of a boom situation. This is why the country has recently cut its feed-in tariff, as the install figures were climbing high (even in a cloudy climate) and solar prices were coming down. This is far from one newspaper’s assumption that this “foolish scheme” has “already been scaled down or abandoned in several other European countries” due to its failure.
Encouragingly, a large portion of the solar installations in Germany are on farmland. Based on these facts,there is no reason why this framework cannot be applied to the UK. The British climate can not and will not affect the success of the UK’s solar market.
Another of the recently articulated grumbles is how these panels will look. On several occasions I have read how farmers are being ‘cold called’ by developers who want to ‘blight’ the country’s beautiful green fields by ‘carpeting them with black silicon slabs’ while poor defenceless farm animals are left with nowhere to graze. On top of that, we are all going to apparently starve as ‘there will be nowhere to grow food crops’. I hasten to add that all of these points are null and void. Let’s look at this more closely.
Firstly, large-scale solar panel installations will need to be thoroughly discussed and have planning permission granted before they are given the go-ahead. Nick Pascoe of Low Carbon Solar says that he specifically advised one of the authors of these defamatory pieces that “the UK countryside will not be covered with black glass due to fundamental limitations of availability of connection points to the power grid and the UK planning system ensuring that every development of this type is in keeping with its surroundings – mostly (these systems are) screened totally by a normal hedgerow.”
Secondly, ground-mounted systems are designed to work in harmony with livestock. By fixing the panels approximately two metres above the ground they are a) not tall enough to ‘blight’ the land and b) provide enough room for animals to graze underneath, additionally providing shade in sunnier months that this.
Thirdly, don’t rush off to your local supermarket to stock up on sweetcorn, as there’s no danger of us running out of food in place of green power. As numerous farmers have since pointed out (in direct response to one particular anti-solar author), there is of course the point of crop rotation. During the fallow years no crops are grown and fields are rested, making them perfect for solar panels. These fields are usually used for grazing, which of course we have just proved can still be accomplished.
As with most things, money is involved in this quarrel. There are many aspects to the financial argument against solar power, the main ones being that farmers are harvesting taxpayers’ money, jobs are being given to overseas manufacturers and that the recent spending cuts meant that money is invested in a ‘next to useless technology’.
First off, the role farmers play is fairly subdued. The land is simply rented out to a developer who installs the system. The developer then reaps the feed-in tariff reward – paid by the energy supplier who buys it, not the Government or the taxpayer – and voilà, Joe Public doesn’t shell out a penny.
As far as the job argument goes, well, it’s just preposterous to say that all of the skills and materials will come from overseas. That’s not to say that some of it won’t; however, the point is that around one-third of the green job positions created by the solar industry in the UK are for installers. There are currently almost 400 MCS accredited solar installers in the UK, meaning that there is no shortage of new positions. Many of these jobs are going to out-of-work electricians and engineers, creating a new possibility for many currently struggling to find work. There is also an increased amount of solar PV being manufactured in the UK, with Sharp Solar’s plant in Wrexham, Wales now producing 500MW a year.
The above arguments clearly demonstrate the case for solar in the UK, while also outlining the obvious frustration suffered by those reading these unfounded articles in the mainstream press. While I realise that it’s not likely I will change the opinions of these protestors, I can at least sleep soundly in the knowledge that the truth is now out there and that solar power will shine through, whatever the weather.
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