Greatford Solar Park Presentation Greatford Parish Council 25 th March 2014

Facts and Figures Solar Panels are also referred to as Photovoltaic Cells. Photo means Light and Voltaic means Electricity Solar panels have been in commercial use since the mid 1950s at this time they were mainly used on satellites. The average square meter of land in the southern half of the UK receives 1000 watts of energy per year from the Sunlight The average house in the UK uses 4300 kWh per year (kWh = kilo Watt hours) The average house energy bill per year is £1,267 5 Mega watts of solar energy will power 1500 houses for a year 5 Mega watts of solar energy replaces = 2150 tonnes of Co2 per year when compared to fossil fuel 1 Acre of land is enough to site 3.5 Mega Watts of Solar panels The government aims to have 15% of the UK energy generated by renewable sources by Currently we have 2.8% in 2013 Domestic and industrial Energy consumption in the UK is increasing by 3.1% annually Over half a million homes in the UK now have solar panels fitted to them Per Capita in the UK we use 3252 kilos of oil per annum. The world average is 1852 kilos per capita

Why Solar The power source to make the system work is free and a daily occurrence, when daylight comes until night falls the system will produce power into the national grid. There are no resources used to produce the power, no water or energy to make the system operate, therefore no Co2 emissions are created as a by product during power generation. Once the system is installed there are no moving parts, the system makes no noise and the panels are not higher the 2.5 meters. The inside of a solar cell. As photons of light hit the top layer, it allows electrons to flow from the top layer to the bottom, creating a current. When sunlight hits the top silicon layer, it excites the electrons and gives them enough energy to move. The electrons begin to flow from the top layer to the bottom. When electrons start to move along in the same direction, we create electricity. Put two metal contacts on either side of the silicon sandwich and we have electricity moving through a circuit.

How much land will solar panels take up in the UK A solar farm is normally granted planning permission for 25 years, after which it is required to be dismantled, unless it is granted an extension due to a re application at the end of term. A solar farm does not change the zoning classification of the land. A typical 5 MW solar farm could be dismantled and removed within weeks. The UK has 59m acres of land, 45m is in agricultural production, 11m in arable production of which up to 250k acres is proposed for growing biogas crops and 865k acres for perennial energy crops like willow and miscanthus, an example of this would be a maize fed Anaerobic digester, it requires 20,000 tons of processed maize to create 1 MW of power which is 1000 acres of maize per MW per year. 10GW of solar would only use 60k acres or 0.1% of UK land area. To date there are circa 1600 acres of consented solar farms in the UK The farm will still be farmed with the land being sown with grass and then used as sheep grazing throughout the year. The land on the boundaries of the solar park will be used as part of the screening as well as an environmental enhancement scheme, in combination with the footpaths. Why the Baston site? The site has been selected due to the location of the overhead power line and the topography of the site. The power line allows export to the National Grid and the site is flat and this lends itself to a vista of the park which is not as intrusive as a park built on a hillside. Lincolnshire as a county, are supportive of renewable energy projects and largely prefer Solar to Wind.

How does the local Community benefit The rates payable on the site would be circa £65k per year There will be 1.5 equivalent full time jobs created by the Solar Park We would like to connect the two footpaths, by a permissive foot path on the southwest edge of the site Britain first community energy strategy was announced on the 27/01/14 which aims to help communities benefit from renewable energy schemes, via various mechanics. There is a 12 million fund being set up for the promotion and implementation of the scheme. I would like to see all of Baston, Wilsthorpe, Braceborough & Greatford having the supply from the solar park at a better rate than the current commercial alternative via a nominated supplier.

Example Average house uses 4500 kWh per year Average price per kWh is £0.18 per unit = £810 per year Collective purchasing via a group, with power supplied by the Solar Park would result in the following: Average price per kWh of £0.14 per unit = £630 per year a saving of £180 per year £4500 over 25 years, the price paid for the electricity would be index linked to RPI This scheme can be administered locally or by a central third party provider