Solar ... In the news

Coastalwatch

Proof, if ever it were needed that solar farms are good not only for clean energy generation but for biodiversity, insects, wildlife and regeneration of land. Maybe it's time for the silent majority to make themselves heard!

Balancing energy security with food security on solar farms

Solar, now subsidy-free, has become one of the lowest cost energy-generating technologies at around a third of the cost of gas or nuclear, with rapid deployment: potentially within months of receiving planning consent a solar farm will begin generating  clean power, contributing to lower energy prices across the board.

The overwhelming majority (over 80%) of the public supports solar developments both in principle and in their area. However, a small but vocal minority of backbench MPs, parish councils and neighbours to prospective solar farms are opposing new developments on the grounds that they result in the loss of productive agricultural land which should be prioritised for food production given the current crisis. This is a false narrative designed to create fear.

Solar farms are typically developed on land of poor or moderate quality – classified as Grades 3b and below in the Natural England/DEFRA Agricultural Land Classification; they rarely result in the loss of ‘Best and Most Versatile Land’ (BMV), which is 3a and above.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/blogs/balancing_energy_security_with_food_security_on_solar_farms

Martyn1981

Came across this company in a recent news article, I think they may have been mentioned some time back.

Anyway's ..... they manufacture in roof PV, and I think it looks quite nice. They are Estonian, but are installing in other parts of Europe, though I'm not sure if they've reached UK shores yet. Still early days, but 700 installs isn't bad. So perhaps one to watch for the future.

I had a play with their calculator, and they estimated for 2 roofs of 6m by 5m:
Roof 1 €10,858  4.212kWp
Roof 2 € 8,329  4.212kWp  [I assume their is some inbuilt discount, but weirdly, it gets cheaper again for both.]
Combined offer  €16,509   8.424kWp

I didn't think this was too bad for a roof replacement and PV, but I've no idea, of course, how much that price will vary for a 'real' sale, plus I went for simple rectangle roofs, and often roofs aren't that simple.

Solarstone

Coastalwatch

40 GW's by 2030 appears a huge number and challenge to me but great to see the ambitions of the solar sector across all sectors.

It is recognised that the number is aspirational and non binding as the start of the video states. Afraid I hadn't time to watch it further but at least it does show what might be possible given the necessary incentives and finance.

Unlocking the ground-mount solar sector: Solar Media’s Finlay Colville discusses the surging sector

In the run-up to the inaugural, in-person UK Solar Summit event, Solar Power Portal caught up with Solar Media’s head of market research Finlay Colville to discuss all things utility-scale solar.

The sector is booming currently, with 40GW across all segments by 2030 now fully achievable according to Colville.

Net-zero targets, the wider energy crisis and a generally supportive government policy have helped drive the uptake of solar, with 15.8GW of cumulative capacity forecast for ground-mount by the end of 2022 alone.

While challenges remain – not least around supply chains, as Colville flags – there seems to be little to stop the sector's continued growth.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/unlocking_the_ground_mount_solar_sector_solar_medias_finlay_colville_discus

michaels

There wasn't as much or as cheap solar as I expected in the most recent CFD round. I wonder if that is because the action has moved on from guaranteed low price output to better returns being available at market?

zeupater

michaels said:

There wasn't as much or as cheap solar as I expected in the most recent CFD round. I wonder if that is because the action has moved on from guaranteed low price output to better returns being available at market?

Hi

I suspect it's simply a balancing of risk, that's risk based opportunities (margin greed at current energy pricing) vs (risk based aversion through long term investment margin safety provided by CFD) ....

Currently there's a vast difference in the value of CFD payments being made into the scheme by operators and what they had planned/expected, probably causing more than a little 'friction' at senior management level ...

HTH - Z 

 

Coastalwatch

Following on from an article which proved that Solar farms were good for bio diversity, pollinators and wild life with public perception viewing it more favourably both prospective candidates for the PM vacancy appear to be showing considerable ignorance in the matter.

S'funny how it appears there is always something more important than climate change for many politicians to focus upon.

Heaven help us, for we seem incapable of helping ourselves!

Energy sector hits back as Truss dubs solar farms ‘paraphernalia’

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are the two remaining candidates for leader of the Conservative Party, with party members set to vote in September. Image: UK Government (Flickr).

In the most recent leadership hustings, held in Darlington, Conservative leadership candidate and MP for South West Norfolk Liz Truss again suggested solar farms negatively impacted food security.

“I’m somebody who wants to see farmers producing food, not filling in forms, not doing red tape, not filling fields with paraphernalia like solar farms. What we want is crops, and we want livestock,” she said, continuing to highlight that both food and energy security are key issues currently due to the war in Ukraine.

The statement follows on from comments made by both Truss and her opponent Rishi Sunak in a previous hustings held in Exeter at the beginning of August. Both have argued that land should be used for crops, instead of solar panels.

In Britain, agricultural land is divided into a number of categories on the basis of what is considered Best and Most Versatile (BMV).

The agricultural land classification (ALC) grades land from 1-5, with a number of subsections. Grade 1 is considered excellent quality agricultural land, best for growing fruit and salad crops for example, whilst Grade 5 is very poor quality agricultural land, suitable mainly for just permanent pasture or rough grazing.

Solar farms are not built on land considered BMV within the ALC, and instead on land that falls into Grade 3B – denoting moderate quality agricultural land – or below. As such, it does not have a significant impact on food production or security in Britain.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/energy_sector_hits_back_as_truss_dubs_solar_farms_paraphernalia

Martyn1981

Pretty fair and detailed article on residential PV, with lots of info. Interesting to read that some installers are simply declining business, or stating lead times of up to 10 months.

I'm guessing/assuming that things will remain crazy until the European gas price returns to some level of normal. Hopefully that will be a result of some improvements regarding the Ukraine War, but realistically, I'm starting to think things will remain 'bad' until European gas demand has dropped by an equivalent of the Russian supply, 30-40%. Ouch, that's a lot of RE, insulation and heatpumps that are sorely needed.

Solar panels: how to fix your energy bills while the sun shines

British households are racing to install roof-top solar electricity panels amid huge energy price rises, with installers saying demand has “exploded”.

Simon Dudson, the chief executive of the Little Green Energy Company, which serves London and south-east England, says: “It’s absolutely crazy times. It’s unprecedented. We have had a 400-500% increase in business.”

The soaring price of electricity means a domestic solar panel system can now pay for itself in as little as seven years, and the way things are going, that could go down to five years. About a year ago, installers were saying the “payback” period was 15 years or more. Then there are the environmental benefits of solar panels.

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

Pretty fair and detailed article on residential PV, with lots of info.

I was thinking about this earlier. Specifically the quote:

The soaring price of electricity means a domestic solar panel system can now pay for itself in as little as seven years, and the way things are going, that could go down to five years.

Over on the Energy forum, we've been contemplating the latest predictions for the Ofgem caps over the coming five quarters:

Those prices are horrid, but they have an effect on the payback period for solar PV.

• If you can put solar on the roof for £1.20 a watt (and we're seeing some quotes close to that), and
  
• If each watt generates 0.9 kWh per year (achievable in quite a bit of the UK), and
• If you use a third of that to displace electricity ay 70p/kWh, and export two-thirds for 30p/kWh on Outgoing Agile, then
  
• Each year, each watt earns 39p, and
• Payback time is just over three years.

Are prices going to remain this crazy for three years? I really hope not, but the first year alone will cover 1/3rd of the cost of the system.

They say "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." A similar situation seems to apply with domestic solar PV.

Spies

I had previously worked out 7 year payback at 30p import saving and 15p export! 

Alnat1

Everyone seems to have different ideas to work out what "payback" is with a (non FIT) solar system.

If I use 1kWh cooking dinner at 6pm when the sun is shining, is that simply free electricity? or did I save 35p (Agile rate) because I didn't import it from the grid? or did I lose because Agile Outgoing was paying 50p/kWh at that time?