beardface
Member
- Location
- East Yorkshire
How do people get on with water inside them. Anyone tried harvesting it off the panels?
Solar park grazing
- Thread starter beardface
- Start date
I popped a pipe through the fence and put a tank in....
3 parts of the year, there is enough moisture around for sheep, but I expect with ewes and lambs the tank would be essential
But with the price of electricity going crazy, surely they could afford to pay a bit more?
You can push the annual lease price/ac, but the developer will push for a longer Lease. 40 years is not unknown now... used to be 20-25yrs. This may, or may not, be an issue.
There are plenty of financial institutions who will buy the lease, or the land and lease ithe landowners circulstances change.
Does the grazing licence normally get included in the HOT? I'm at the stage of agreeing the HOT and their agent says it's not up to him whether a grazing licence will be available. I can see it may not be worth their while if they have to spend more to make the cabling sheep-proof but it would be a loss to me.
TBH, the grazing of some sheep is, or should be surely, a low priority in your negotiations... at least from a financial perspective?
Rent will be circa 900/ac... grazing a few sheep is small beer, albeit, it really does feel to be the "correct" thing to do.However, you can most certainly insist on sheep grazing permissions, BUT, it'll surely cost you far more than just coming to a sensible arrangement after the build. Better to try and get the panel widths wide enough to be able to use conventions compact tractors dwon the alleys.
henman
Member
- Location
- pembrockshire
the grass quality goes down hill in a solar park we are 7 years in . Our park the rows are narrow quad bike width so they can not use normal sized tractor to top grass so they pay us £100 a acer
to graze and control weeds buy spraying or topping we pay for chems, don't underestimate the cost of control nettles docks thistles.
to graze and control weeds buy spraying or topping we pay for chems, don't underestimate the cost of control nettles docks thistles.
That is a very good rate....
I use a baby compact tractor for my spraying, but happily no topping work. Weedwiped rushes for the first time this year, MUCH better than topping IMO.
beardface
Member
- Location
- East Yorkshire
Hopefully landlord will insist on grazing. TBH given the current social mood to solar farms I think pretty much all of them going forwards will be set up for grazing. Seems people are starting to realise how many acres are penciled in for panels and many aren't happy about reducing the amount of food producing acres for substandard electricity generation.
I wouldn't put it quite like that, but undoubtedly the use of the land for grazing ticks a box for some Councillors
- Location
- Suffolk
I might be wrong, but I always thought sheep grazing solar parks was more to do with BPS payments and the the site being actively farmed? Without this included, surely the site is industrial use, with the associated extra tax costs etc. I think many solar parks need to be grazed for this reason
You are wrong, Its Nothing at all to do with that.I might be wrong, but I always thought sheep grazing solar parks was more to do with BPS payments and the the site being actively farmed? Without this included, surely the site is industrial use, with the associated extra tax costs etc. I think many solar parks need to be grazed for this reason
Solar panel sites are not allowed to collect BPS, sheep grazing them or not .
Nope. Your solar farm is an industrial site for the purposes of inheritance tax and will NOT qualify for APR, it might qualify for BPR if you own and operate the site.I might be wrong, but I always thought sheep grazing solar parks was more to do with BPS payments and the the site being actively farmed? Without this included, surely the site is industrial use, with the associated extra tax costs etc. I think many solar parks need to be grazed for this reason
I am in discussions now about spinning the land holding itself off into the PLC to make it more tax efficient and bring kids in as shareholders. I'll see what transpires!
Grazing is a good management oprion for some sites is about all... Cheaper too!
In my case, I have some of the land in the site here registered on my RLR maps as agricutural, as I am actively farming it and with no panels there. About 0.7ha as I recall in one batch, where the tree and hedgeline prevented panels being installed. All OK when inspected. I even apply a tickle of N on them.
I did hear of one solar farm in the SW, where the panels where spaced much wider than normal, and the farmer was managing his grass quite well. Fert and mowing I believe.... I always felt some alpine kit would be perfect!
Corn & Horn
Member
Is anyone grazing Solar fields where the panels are at sheep scratching height ?! Any issues ?
henman
Member
- Location
- pembrockshire
we lost 4-month-old lambs jumping against the panels when Hearding sheep off the park
The lower edge of the panels here make the sheep duck in some instances....
No scratching issues that I am aware of here. In fact, no issues from the sheep at all. Some sites have reported the sheep chewing the alarm wire, when it has been strung on the insides of the security fence, again, no issues here.
The lower edge of the panels here make the sheep duck in some instances....
No scratching issues that I am aware of here. In fact, no issues from the sheep at all. Some sites have reported the sheep chewing the alarm wire, when it has been strung on the insides of the security fence, again, no issues here.