News Article
STA Best Practice Guidance For Solar Farms Welcomed By Energy Minister
The Solar Trade Association (STA) has published "˜10 Commitments' it wants its membership to comply with in the construction and management of solar farms [2]. The solar farm sector is also boosted by a new YouGov poll [3] which shows that two thirds of the public support either "˜any' or "˜good quality' [4] solar farms. Support rises to 71% when best practice is described.
The Commitments have been developed by leading solar developers over the past three months in the solar farm sector of the solar industry. The STA recognises that solar farms must be developed by listening to the concerns of the local communities, being sensitive to the landscape and protecting the ecological value of the land.
STA CEO Paul Barwell said:
"When solar farms are done well they can be a force for good in the local countryside, as well as building national energy security and protecting the global climate. For the UK, with its beautiful countryside, maintaining strong public support for solar farms is a challenge this new industry is keen to take on by delivering the very best practice.
"Solar farms create no noise or waste, have no moving parts, require minimal maintenance and have a low visual impact, so it is clear why good schemes enjoy strong public support. We've been impressed by the level of enthusiasm from conservation groups telling us that solar could help their efforts to protect vulnerable British plant and animal species.
"Our 10 Commitments set out the direction of travel for the solar farm industry, which is to deliver multiple benefits, not only for the climate, but for the British countryside. We want all our members to comply with these Commitments and we believe the whole industry should get behind these standards."
Welcoming the STA's "˜10 Commitments', Energy Minister Greg Barker said:
"As the big roll out of solar gathers pace and the sector scales up, the deployment of solar PV must be carried out in a manner which is thoughtful, sustainable and respects both the landscape and the views of the communities among which it is deployed. So the Solar Trade Association's "˜10 Commitments' are a very welcome initiative to help retain the strong level of public support. I look forward to hearing the industry's plans to take this forward."
Patrick Begg, Rural Enterprises Director at the National Trust, has welcomed the initiative, saying it is:
"hugely refreshing and heartening to see the industry making a robust commitment to best practice when it comes to locating, setting up and then managing solar farms."
Avoiding conflict with food production & supporting biodiversity
By focusing on non-agricultural land and land of lower agricultural quality, the "˜10 Commitments' make clear the solar industry's determination not to displace food production. Encouraging dual purpose land usage, for example sheep grazing, and enabling access for small animals and birds, whilst helping to improve the ecological value of the land, is a key aspect of helping biodiversity.
Chief Adviser on Renewable Energy and Climate Change to the NFU Dr Jonathan Scurlock, a key stakeholder in developing the "˜10 Commitments', said:
"Farmers are well-placed to capture renewable natural energy flows, while maintaining our traditional role in providing food together with other environmental and land management services. Growers and food processors have a long history of harnessing the power of the sun, and solar electricity clearly has a major role to play in modern agriculture. The NFU is delighted that lead solar developers have signed up to such a strong charter of good practice to deliver multiple benefits from the development of solar farms."
STA members are also committing to engage with local communities ahead of planning applications, to listen to community views and to offer educational opportunities. The STA is organising a meeting for developers in the industry with major UK conservation groups to explore the potential for creative partnerships.
Major UK charities including RSPB and The National Trust have stressed to the STA the potential for solar to support their conservation objectives. Some conservation groups disagree that high grade land should always be avoided as solar farms can offer protection to exhausted soils or carbon saving peat land. The STA has sought to capture these nuances in its commitments [please see supportive quotes at point 5 below].
New poll shows British public are behind solar farms
The "˜10 Commitments' have been published alongside results of a YouGov poll commissioned by the STA which found that nearly seven times more people would rather have a solar farm located near them than a gas fracking field when given four options to choose from. When asked to choose ONE local energy development as a preference to be cited nearby, by far the most popular choice was a solar farm at 40% of respondents. 25% chose a wind farm, 10% a nuclear power plant and just 6% shale gas fracking and boreholes.
When asked specifically about support for solar farms, two thirds of people (67%) said they supported either "˜good quality' or "˜all' solar farms. The level of public support rose to 71% when the STA's "˜10 Commitments' were described. Only 5% of people said they oppose all solar farms when good quality solar farms were described.
Dr Doug Parr, Chief Scientist at Greenpeace UK said:
"For all the enthusiasm for fracking emanating from the upper echelons of the Coalition Government, the public would actually prefer to be near decent renewable projects like solar power. Cameron and Osborne should start listening to what real people want from local energy rather than trying to turn English counties into their version of Dallas".
The Commitments follow the Communities Department's publication of guidance for local planners. The STA is working closely with the Department for Energy and Climate Change on sustainable land-use for solar farms and the National Solar Centre is currently working to develop comprehensive guidance.
Stressing the urgent need to act Paul Barwell said:
"Fossil fuels are running out, the climate is changing, UK carbon emissions are on the rise and the world population has doubled in only 50 years. We need alternative energy sources and we need them now."
