Stonehouse Posted March 26 Posted March 26 Exploring options for solar panels in the field instead of the roof which has been approved. I’m in a conservation area. Has anyone had this approved and what are my options? I have looked at solar fence panels, would this be within PD rights?
MikeGrahamT21 Posted March 26 Posted March 26 I doubt you will have any PD rights in a conservation area. Whats the reason behind wanting them in a field and not on roof? Presumably more capacity? Do you actually need that capacity?
nod Posted March 26 Posted March 26 We have field near us that is having 20 acres They look much better than stuck on roofs I still don’t get the PV on houses From a point of reducing bills If they cut ours in half Which is unlikely It would still take a couple of decades to cover the cost
SteamyTea Posted March 26 Posted March 26 2 hours ago, nod said: I still don’t get the PV on houses From a point of reducing bills If we had a true carbon tax (it is levied on the big generators, a bit), then the economics would change. But I agree, roof top is the most expensive way to install solar. You can easily get 0.5 MWp on a hectare (10,000 m2) Bit more on sloping land. To put that into perspective, it is the same as 125 roofs with 4 kWp systems.
nod Posted March 26 Posted March 26 9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: If we had a true carbon tax (it is levied on the big generators, a bit), then the economics would change. But I agree, roof top is the most expensive way to install solar. You can easily get 0.5 MWp on a hectare (10,000 m2) Bit more on sloping land. To put that into perspective, it is the same as 125 roofs with 4 kWp systems. I’m all for the solar in fields The farmer in the next field to us is getting around £500 an acre and can still graze his sheep
saveasteading Posted March 26 Posted March 26 17 minutes ago, nod said: can still graze his sheep Any info on how the shade affects the grass growth and quality?
SteamyTea Posted March 26 Posted March 26 1 hour ago, nod said: can still graze his sheep Not as many sheep though. 55 minutes ago, saveasteading said: Any info on how the shade affects the grass growth and quality Probably work it out roughly. Grass converts about 0.2% of the total annual irradiation to dry mass, dry mass has an energy content of around 3.5 kWh/kg. Halving the amount of sunlight will not halve the growth rate, but will, at an educated guess, reduce it by a third, so somewhere around 2.3 kWh/kg. To get better figures I would have to look at the UN FAO database and see how latitude affect crop growth. But I am too busy at the moment. 1
nod Posted March 26 Posted March 26 3 hours ago, saveasteading said: Any info on how the shade affects the grass growth and quality? It’s his first season So not But they told him he will be able to graze as normal
saveasteading Posted March 26 Posted March 26 2 hours ago, SteamyTea said: Not as many sheep though. Good point. Could be singular. Seems grass could convert summer sun more efficiently. Winter recovery from mud to grass might be an issue.
Bramco Posted March 26 Posted March 26 9 hours ago, Stonehouse said: Exploring options for solar panels in the field instead of the roof which has been approved. I’m in a conservation area. Has anyone had this approved and what are my options? I have looked at solar fence panels, would this be within PD rights? We got planning permission for Solar PV in the green belt, so similar. Look for any applications in the area to get some examples and references where permission has been given. Although take care - I daftly thought, stick them in a corner of the field - will be more acceptable... No idea if this was even thought about but it would have been a disaster as the trees on that corner were huge. We ended up putting them more in the centre of the back of the field.
Beelbeebub Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Slightly different environment but some trials have shown an increase in the agri output after the solar has gone up. Maybe shade helps with reducing water loss and keeps the temperatures in a more optimal range.
Temp Posted March 28 Posted March 28 On 26/03/2025 at 08:23, Stonehouse said: Exploring options for solar panels in the field instead of the roof which has been approved. I’m in a conservation area. Has anyone had this approved and what are my options? I have looked at solar fence panels, would this be within PD rights? I don't think PP is needed in the garden provided some rules are met.. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/solar-panels/planning-permission-stand-alone-solar-equipment-panels-not-on-a-building-but-within-the-grounds-of-a-house-or-a-block-of-flats But in a field its a different matter. Pretty sure a full application would be required.
Stonehouse Posted March 29 Author Posted March 29 Thanks for the comments. Didn’t know if I could get away with a vertical fence panel with PV attached. Less effective I know but overall might get more panels than roof
Nickfromwales Posted March 29 Posted March 29 20 hours ago, Temp said: I don't think PP is needed in the garden provided some rules are met.. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/solar-panels/planning-permission-stand-alone-solar-equipment-panels-not-on-a-building-but-within-the-grounds-of-a-house-or-a-block-of-flats But in a field its a different matter. Pretty sure a full application would be required. Full PP after 9m2 iirc. 1
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