South facing fields, solar

[Greythundercloudys]

Iv got about 70 acre of land that's all south facing, how do l find out if it would suit a solar farm or not, none around here but a few wind turbines.

 

[steveR]

Iv got about 70 acre of land that's all south facing, how do l find out if it would suit a solar farm or not, none around here but a few wind turbines.

The biggy is a Network connection, not the land!!

 

[Steevo]

I seem to get letters every month interested in solar on my land.....the money sounds good but I’m not sure it would actually be worth it at the end of the day.

 

[steveR]

I seem to get letters every month interested in solar on my land.....the money sounds good but I’m not sure it would actually be worth it at the end of the day.

800 quid/acre?? And graze sheep under the panels 2 years later.

Win, Win! Especially the sheep

 

[Bury the Trash]

And graze sheep under the panels 2 years later.

Win, Win! Especially the sheep

That's how it should be done , imo ...using fossil fuels to strim trim and toppers should be banned or linked to feed in tariff reduction at least.

It's easy to sheep proof sites and makes the land doubly productive.

 

[steveR]

That's how it should be done , imo ...using fossil fuels to strim trim and toppers should be banned or linked to feed in tariff reduction at least.

It's easy to sheep proof sites and makes the land doubly productive.

My site has the most secure sheep fencing in the county, 6ft security fencing with alarms. Perfect.

The new O&M company are keen on sheep to graze the site and have offered me a contract for spraying weeds! Just need to finish teh quote after some good advice here on TFF.

Just wish I'd had a second small access point installed and also a bit of room for a handling system. Apparently electric fencing works well in them and is not any issue which was a concern to me from guidance about overheads causing an induction voltage buildup in the fence!! Fried sheep!!!

 

[Bury the Trash]

My site has the most secure sheep fencing in the county, 6ft security fencing with alarms. Perfect.

The new O&M company are keen on sheep to graze the site and have offered me a contract for spraying weeds! Just need to finish teh quote after some good advice here on TFF.

Just wish I'd had a second small access point installed and also a bit of room for a handling system. Apparently electric fencing works well in them and is not any issue which was a concern to me from guidance about overheads causing an induction voltage buildup in the fence!! Fried sheep!!!

A second access gate would increase the insurance premium re. Security I guess.

Electric fencing , that's a good idea ,.... crocodile clips ?

 

[Exfarmer]

One site, I am aware of has had issues with sheep nibbling the cable insulation.
i would not think there is any chance of the cable inducing a current in your fence. The max voltage rarely exceeds 800 in the panels strings and the fence would need to be paralell for it to occur. ( why you should not run fences of any nature following a line of pylons)

 

[Doing it for the kids]

One site, I am aware of has had issues with sheep nibbling the cable insulation.
i would not think there is any chance of the cable inducing a current in your fence. The max voltage rarely exceeds 800 in the panels strings and the fence would need to be paralell for it to occur. ( why you should not run fences of any nature following a line of pylons)

they will sheep proof all cables if you ask them to.

we struggle to keep the grass under control in mid spring so have to top

 

[Bury the Trash]

One site, I am aware of has had issues with sheep nibbling the cable insulation.
i would not think there is any chance of the cable inducing a current in your fence. The max voltage rarely exceeds 800 in the panels strings and the fence would need to be paralell for it to occur. ( why you should not run fences of any nature following a line of pylons)

Any cable within nibble reach should be covered with ducting , weld mesh hoops around entry points to boxes etc.

I think @steveR was meaning subdivision or rather using ordinary electric livestock fencing on site, ?

Only vegetation that is shading a panel is a real problem. Anything else is cosmetic.

No grass will shade a panel only a triffid like rush clump or scotch thistle or maybe monster nettles.

No topping here.....most things are just eaten including docks young rush and sometimes nettles

 

[Spuddler]

How many sheep would keep a 5 meg site in shape?

 

[steveR]

One site, I am aware of has had issues with sheep nibbling the cable insulation.
i would not think there is any chance of the cable inducing a current in your fence. The max voltage rarely exceeds 800 in the panels strings and the fence would need to be paralell for it to occur. ( why you should not run fences of any nature following a line of pylons)

I was told it was unlikely that the lower volatge would be an issue, other than the cable out to the sub station!!

However, it was a guy from teh old CEGB who told me about the problem with leccy fences in parallel to an HV power line... We have 1 132K line plus several 33K lines.

 

[steveR]

How many sheep would keep a 5 meg site in shape?

5 meg is about 20ac, my site is on heavy clay and had not received any fert since 2014. 100 ewes do a reasonable job if they are on site early enough... Ideally, you need the flexibility to increase/decrease stocking as required.

 

[steveR]

they will sheep proof all cables if you ask them to.

we struggle to keep the grass under control in mid spring so have to top

More sheep! I have several wide open spaces near trees and above a pipeline and I will mow that this year. I want to remove a topper from the system if possible.

 

[steveR]

.

Any cable within nibble reach should be covered with ducting , weld mesh hoops around entry points to boxes etc.

I think @steveR was meaning subdivision or rather using ordinary electric livestock fencing on site, ?

Only vegetation that is shading a panel is a real problem. Anything else is cosmetic.

No grass will shade a panel only a triffid like rush clump or scotch thistle or maybe monster nettles.

No topping here.....most things are just eaten including docks young rush and sometimes nettles

Yes, subdivision for management.

Shading is less of an issue than plants touching underneath and causing hot spot here. Albeit some boar thistels were quite large last summer. MCPA+2,4 D will sort them buggers...

You are obviously grazing hard enough. Fouind it great for ewes and lambs last year, a super environment and if it was light land, would be brilliant for early turn out...