We explore how you can address local community concerns when leasing your land for a new solar farm development.
If you’re considering leasing some of your land for a solar farm, you will undoubtedly have considered how your local community will react. Solar farms usually require at least 50 acres of land, so your neighbours might have strong views about how it will impact them. But there are a range of things that can be done to ensure the whole process is managed in a sensitive way. Here are a few of the ways you could respond to community concerns:
One of the most common objections that local communities have to solar farms being built nearby is the possibility of glint and glare from the light that reflects off the panels. The planning process for building a new solar farm is extensive, and assessing the potential for glint and glare is one of the key items that officials review before permission is given. This means it’s highly unlikely that a solar farm would get planning permission if there was a possibility of your neighbours being affected in this way.
Glint and glare happens when solar panels don’t directly face the sun. But of course, the sun is always moving. Careful analysis is undertaken during the design process to ensure the angle and position of the solar panels does not cause any light to reflect into local communities. It’s also possible for solar farms to be built using single axis trackers. These allow the solar panels to move and track the sun as it moves from East to West, to avoid glint and glare entirely.
It’s important that the process of building a new solar farm doesn’t happen behind closed doors. Change can be concerning for people, but letting them be involved in the plans from the start can really help to ensure their concerns are heard early on and addressed where possible.
We hold regular meetings with local communities to keep them updated on how the project is progressing. We also find it useful to house all information about the solar farm project on one website so it’s easily accessible by anyone who needs it, with contact details so they know exactly who to speak to if they’ve got questions.
Similar to agriculture, heavy machinery is required during the construction of a new solar farm. But during the planning process, we work closely with your local community and planning department to minimise disruption.
Our construction plans align with the National Planning Policy Framework, which sets clear rules on how work can be undertaken. It covers noise levels, the time of day when construction can be done, how traffic is managed in and out of the site, how dust is managed, and much more.
Once the solar farm is complete, it’s a silent neighbour. They make very little noise, and most monitoring can be done remotely. We’d usually expect to visit the solar farm every 3-6 months to complete physical checks and inspect for any issues.
Your community may be concerned that the solar farm is taking land that could be used for agricultural purposes. The National Planning Policy framework is clear in that wherever possible, the use of higher-quality agricultural land (known as “best and most versatile” land in England and Wales, and “prime” agricultural land in Scotland) for solar developments should be avoided. This land must be preserved for farming, however in a very small number of cases, the availability of a suitable grid connection may overrule this. There are also specific rules which mean they can’t usually be built within a national park, nature reserve, area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) or site of special specific interest (SSSI).
It's important to note that solar farms take up a very small proportion of UK land. According to Carbon Brief, solar farms currently account for 0.1% of UK land. If the government’s ambition of having 70GW of solar was reached, solar farms would still only account for about 0.3% of UK land. By comparison, golf courses use double that amount of space.
Solar farms should also be constructed as sensitively as possible. For example, if there are protected species in the area, we would put appropriate measures in place as part of the project. We do similar checks for any important archaeology on the site, and ensure that’s protected too. Hedging is used to help mask the solar farm, and new wildflower meadows are often established too - both support the biodiversity of the area.
If you’re interested in leasing your land for a solar farm, but you aren’t able to lease as much as the 50 acres required, then it might make sense to partner up with other neighbouring landowners. Solar farms don’t have to be built on one person’s land – they can be built across land from multiple landowners, so long as the land is adjacent.
The benefit of this is that you’re not going it alone. We often see neighbouring landowners begin to wonder if they should be doing the same thing, when they see plans for a solar farm begin to be put in place. Leasing land as a collective can mean multiple landowners benefit – with a long-term, sable revenue stream for now, and generations to come.
At Centrica Business Solutions, we can help you work out whether a renewable energy development on your land is likely to be successful. To find out more, please contact the Centrica Energy Assets team. We’d be happy to help.
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