900 Hectares in north east Scotland to solar panels

[Massey4517]

If all goes through 900 hectares lost. Interested to hear views on this. A lot of this is good arable land. Everyday on farming groups on facebook solar companies are advertising for more land. Where does this leave the future? All things considered looking very bleak.

 

[Iben]

How productive will they be at this time of year? 8hrs of overcast winter crap isn't going to do much.

Maybe those with panels on their roofs can confirm average output at this time of year?

 

[Massey4517]

How productive will they be at this time of year? 8hrs of overcast winter crap isn't going to do much.

Maybe those with panels on their roofs can confirm average output at this time of year?

The figure I'm seeing from my local against group is they are only 11 percent efficient..

 

[Massey4517]

Critics label solar farms ‘monstrous’ - CO Main Paper Angus/Dundee

edition.pagesuite.com

 

[MCook]

It does seem illogical to keep using good farming land for the use of solar panels, particularly with the ongoing issues with food production and security.

I saw an interesting article the other day, whereby the French are looking at solar panels on all large car parks - essentially providing cover for the cars, whilst generating electricity. Seems like a great idea, though not sure how much space is taken up by the size of car park required to be cost effective in this country.

 

[farenheit]

I don't see the problem at all personally. If the Blenheim Estate solar farm goes ahead, it will 1000ha which will produce at peak output all of Oxfordshire's household electricity needs. That seems a tiny area for that output. Imagine how many acres of maize the biggest AD plants are taking (think tens of thousands of acres...) to produce a tiny amount of that output. Even better if every gap between the solar panels can be rewilded, it will keep loads of people happy. But let's start with the least productive land. That said, arable land is always going to win as its going to be flatter and easily accessible.

Edit: Drax power station covers an area of 1000ha too...

 

[Hard Graft]

The more the better the Cheaper electric will get it needs to be easier to get smallish grid connections especially roof pv etc I do 100kw roof

the problem is they worried that they get too much green power at times and that cause issues but turn power station in to a green hydrogen plant they be able to inject it in to the gas grid or even make N fertiliser

pv is far better than ad if I am correct I think
1mw ad takes 1000ac but 90ac off pv produces the same total amount electricity per year

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I think we should be putting more solar panels on sheds/houses/factory roofs etc before farmland, and maybe doing more micro hydro too as well before taking good productive land out of production.

 

[7610 super q]

Good. Way too much straw and grain produced in the UK.
Way too much gas bought from the Russkies.

 

[goldeneagle]

How productive will they be at this time of year? 8hrs of overcast winter crap isn't going to do much.

Maybe those with panels on their roofs can confirm average output at this time of year?

I’m right on north east coast and have 4kw array with hot water diverter . Put 30kw/h into hot water week before last and last week was about 1kw/h.
Commissioned in June 21 and has done just under 10,000 kw/h to date
Production of significance only really between 11 and 3 at this time of year

 

[DaveGrohl]

Bleak for who?

 

[Chae1]

Interesting there in Angus?

Snp led Council?

@melted welly would be better placed to comment.

 

[toquark]

I don't see that solar panels are such a threat. They're easy enough to remove, the land beneath isn't damaged and in many cases can be grazed around.

Angus really is the very best of land Scotland has though...

 

[BRB John]

If the government had any sense they would be paying for every house in the country to have solar panel and a battery.
There needs to be a practical way to reduce peak demands on the grid.
All solar and wind installation should have 8hr storage backups available.

 

[2wheels]

I don't see that solar panels are such a threat. They're easy enough to remove, the land beneath isn't damaged and in many cases can be grazed around.

Angus really is the very best of land Scotland has though...

a lot of rocky outcrops in angus. i think that because the coastal strip is very good some people think that is all the same . the climate would be a big plus.

 

[bluebell]

All new builds, that is both housing and commercial, plus new builds on farms should have to have solar, or what? built in the design from new, if you take the amount of new buildings built per year that soon adds up, plus if it was designed into the building, buildings from new and built into it as the buildings are constructed it would cost alot less?

 

[BRB John]

All new builds, that is both housing and commercial, plus new builds on farms should have to have solar, or what? built in the design from new, if you take the amount of new buildings built per year that soon adds up, plus if it was designed into the building, buildings from new and built into it as the buildings are constructed it would cost alot less?

I'd have a requirement for ground source heat pumps on all new builds as well.

 

[melted welly]

Interesting there in Angus?

Snp led Council?

@melted welly would be better placed to comment.

It’s an interesting article, I’m not sure how accurate it is though, one of the supposed points is within a mile of us, no one’s heard anything about it and I can’t find anything on the council planning site either.

Angus council been very nimby in the past, especially regarding turbines, perhaps getting leant on from above on this one.

Ive mixed thoughts on ground mounted solar, my heart thinks it’s a waste of good land, but my head thinks our produce is massively undervalued, we’re treated like mugs, our industry is blamed for a lot of other industry’s ills, so bollox to it, stake the whole lot in solar. Big fence round the outside, and all the c-units who moan about what we currently do can suffer the alternative and their dogs can shite in their own garden.

It is funny the fuss about this when at the end of the day it can be picked up and removed, yet irreversible urban sprawl gains little resistance.

As mentioned above, if govt was serious, they’d mandate every new build to have panels on the roof either pv or the water heater ones, 1000l water butt under the downpipes for a bit of self sufficiency/flood mitigation and perhaps some sort of community gshp installation. But they don’t.

Want to be big govt when it involves meddling in family/private life, but very much hands off on big unpopular infrastructure decisions.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

How productive will they be at this time of year? 8hrs of overcast winter crap isn't going to do much.

Maybe those with panels on their roofs can confirm average output at this time of year?

Always look on the bright side eh?

There's nearly 20 hours daylight up there in the summer.

 

[curlietailz]

It does seem illogical to keep using good farming land for the use of solar panels, particularly with the ongoing issues with food production and security.

I saw an interesting article the other day, whereby the French are looking at solar panels on all large car parks - essentially providing cover for the cars, whilst generating electricity. Seems like a great idea, though not sure how much space is taken up by the size of car park required to be cost effective in this country.

Don’t forget though
That good agricultural land may be
Producing wheat for Ethanol= biofuel
Or OSR for industrial usage
Or feedstock for bio digesters

not all pretty farmed crops are for human or animal food
Many are for energy

so saying farmland should be for crops not solar is a non starter arguement