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Mon 20 Oct 2014, 14:42 (last edited on Mon 20 Oct 2014, 14:49)
Alan, the Cotswold Conservation Board Position Statement on Renewable Energy Projects www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/userfiles/file/Publications/renewableenergyoct05headed.doc states that
"With care solar photovoltaic and solar thermal applications can be installed with only limited visual impact and should be encouraged." I think it is overwhelmingly if not unanimously agreed that the Southill Solar proposal has done just that, come up with a scheme where the visual impact is at the core of it's design and now has only limited visual impact. All of your other points were I thought either included as part of the presentation or came up in the subsequent discussion, and included here for reference: The issue of other sites was brought up. The WODC Conservation Officer, whilst objecting to the Southill Solar scheme with regard to the setting of Charlbury, recommended an alternative site, Clarkes Bottom, on Hundley Way. This is still in the AONB and has a public footpath and several properties running alongside the length of it. We also discussed it's unsuitability with regard slope, size, orientation and grid connection. Ditchley Park was also discussed, but the estate are working on their own projects eg biomass with the purpose of decarbonising the running of the estate. We also discussed the increased visibility of all other high land around Charlbury.
Whilst laudable, and with a consensus of public and government support, commercial and school rooftop solar are unlikely to make the inroads into the delivery of electricity that the International Energy Agency have forecast(solar overtaking fossil fuels by 2050 with a 26% stake in overall supply) or our own governments 2020 targets of 10GW from renewable energy. Ground mount solar also takes considerably less land than any other renewable energy to supply electricity e.g. 20GW hrs pa for 5k homes, 1,500 hectares for biomass, 1,000 hectares for AD's, 250 hectares for a wind farm and 60 hectares for solar PV.
75% of UK land is in the agricultural sector. To meet the UK target of 10GW by 2020 only 25,000 hectares of land(0.1% of total UK land) would need to be given over to solar PV, and that land would have improved biodiversity and more often than not be retained as pasture for grazing throughout the lifespan of the solar PV farm.
In the UK there is a staggering 7,000,000 tonnes of food waste per year, needing 285,000 hectares to cultivate. The maths is simple, a 10% drop in food waste would release more than enough land to supply electricity generated from ground mount solar PV.
The inclusion of (sensitively designed)ground mount solar should be welcomed in order to help achieve the government targets(on the smallest area of land) and the IEA forecast, whilst reducing carbon emissions and bringing a degree of energy security back to the UK.
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