Solar Farm Development – Farmland

Solar energy and climate change

Eneco is in the business of delivering green energy to landowners, hereby reducing their reliance
upon greenhouse gases as well as producing profitable diversification opportunities to the
landowner.

As a landowner you are in a unique position to be able to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas
(primarily carbon) emissions that are as a result of the current reliance upon fossil fuels. Hosting a
solar farm on your land will increase the UK’s generation of clean, renewable resources. Energy
produced by the solar farm will substitute the energy produced from burning non-renewable
resources, helping the UK reach its targets* while also providing financial gain for you.

Solar energy is well-placed to help achieve this target and is emerging as a popular and viable long
term energy solution. For every 20 acres of solar farm development, there is enough energy
generated to power over 1,000 homes, thus offsetting the release of nearly 2,000 tonnes of CO²
per year into the atmosphere1.

Financial benefits and conditions

As well as the obvious environmental benefits of solar power, there are also financial revenues to
be made that make diversification of the land a viable and attractive option:

 Lease: Lease income for 25 years depending on the location and size of the land
 Option fee: We pay you a fee upon signing of the Option to Lease
 Legal cost: We pay for your legal fees to arrange for the Option to Lease and the Lease (up
to a certain amount)

Before entering into the Option to Lease you would sign an Exclusivity Agreement for a certain
amount of time that will give us the opportunity to invest in the feasibility study on your land. This
includes studies such as grid capacity surrounding your site.

One of the great benefits of solar farms is that in most cases you would still be in a position to
graze livestock on the land where the solar farm is constructed. There is plenty of space in
between the rows of panels and even under the panels themselves. This could mean additional
income from livestock grazing as well for you or someone in the surrounding local community.

We also offer a local community benefit fund. This is given through annual payments to the
community council or through a single investment into a local initiative.

1
Data from http://www.solar-trade.org.uk; household energy consumption of 4.224MWh pa for 2012 (DECC
2013); CO² emission factor of 449g/kWh for 2011 (Defra 2013)

* In 2008 the UK government introduced carbon budgets which place restrictions on the total amount of
greenhouse gases that can be emitted by the UK over a five year period. This introduction of a carbon budget
was the first by any country in the world and demonstrates the commitment to reducing the countries reliance
on fossil fuels. It is hoped that by 2050 the UK will have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%
based on 1990 baseline figures.

1
Site criteria for solar energy

 Land size: The site needs to be an area of at least 30 acres. We would be willing to assess
land that is less than 24 acres however it is preferable that as a minimum it meets the
requirements set out above.
 Type of land: Ideally the site would be grade 3b, 4 or 5 land. We discourage the use of
good grade agricultural land for such developments.
 Grid availability: Proximity and capacity of the gird are important factors to be determined
early on in the site assessment. Ideally, a site would have an 11kV or 33kV electricity
supply within a reasonable distance. During the site feasibility assessment the capacity on
the grid and distance from the site would be assessed.
 Obstructions: Falling within, or being close to, any of the following areas can be a
significant constraint for planning permission for a solar farm: Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation, National
Parks, and areas with natural and cultural heritage designations.
 Site conditions: The best sites are flat, well screened by hedges and tree lines and are free
from any structures that may cast significant shadows over the photovoltaic panel array.
They should not cause undue impact to nearby domestic properties or roads.

Your land needs to fulfil the majority of the above requirements in order to make the project viable
for you as well as for Eneco UK.

The solar farm

The average solar panel has 250W of power. This means for a 5MW solar farm there will be around
20,000 solar panels covering an area of 30 acres.

Each photovoltaic panel is typically 1.6m x 0.8m in size and is angled at between 35-45° degrees
depending on the site conditions and angle of slope on the land. Ground mounted frame posts are
buried up to 1.5m below ground level to anchor the panels. Often a concrete foundation is used to
reinforce the structure. This wouldn’t be visible once the solar farm is operational.

Access tracks are required for construction and maintenance and are strategically placed to follow
existing routes where possible. We have found in the past that the tracks offer the landowner
further access to the fields which is extremely helpful during times of poor weather when access
can be an issue.

A switchgear house, usually around 10m x 3m, is required to house the equipment needed to link
the solar farm to the grid. The electricity cables to connect the panels to the grid are buried
typically around 1.2m, meaning no extra pylons or other disruption to the land.

For a large scale solar farm, a temporary construction compound will be required to house the
materials and equipment. This will be located to minimise ecological impact and near to the site
entrance of the site.

The construction process is a series of distinct activities that will be planned in association with you
so as to minimise disruption to farming or other activities.

Once the photovoltaic panels are in place, normal farming can go on around them. Vegetation can
thrive under the solar panels and grazing is easily practicable. Natural fencing and vegetation will
be used to secure the area as well as to limit visual impact. Any security fence lightening will
utilise Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR) technology to reduce light pollution.

2
During normal operation of the solar farm, standard maintenance procedures will require service
personnel to attend site every two months. Photovoltaic panels are monitored remotely via the
internet and any fault indications can normally be dealt with from the control centre.

Solar panels come in two different colour options, blue and black, and can vary slightly with
differing patterns where the photovoltaic cells are arranged. We will assess which panels works
best for your land in terms of the visual appearance as well as the efficiency of each module.

Environmental and community considerations

Solar energy can be an emotive subject in some communities, with the main concerns revolving
around transport during the construction phase and visual impacts. With ground-mounted solar
projects located on farmland, the land can remain in productive use (e.g. sheep grazing), or be
used to promote biodiversity (e.g. flower meadows and refuges for amphibians and pollinating
insects).

The landscape and visual impacts of solar projects form a key part of the planning application.
Eneco UK recognises the need to work with communities to ensure that affected residents are
informed of the facts and, where appropriate, have input into the project to minimise its impact.

Eneco UK engages with the local communities through a mix of face-to-face research, exhibitions,
articles and letters in the local press, and a site-specific website. We request the involvement of
landowners to generate local support for the project.

We believe that local communities should benefit financially from our solar developments, however
currently there is no industry agreed protocol for the level of community benefit. Therefore we
take a similar approach to that which we take for wind projects and engage with the local
community on means of distributing benefit and possible shared ownership.

Case study: Sevor Farm Solar

Located in the village of South Marston, Swindon, Sevor Farm Solar generates 10.3MW of
renewable solar energy. The site has been built on low grade farm land which is rented from the
local farmer for an annual fee. The power is sent to the nearby Honda of the UK Manufacturing
(HUM) Engine Plant, where it provides around 64% of their annual energy requirements. The local
community receive an annual community benefit fund of £30,000 which is controlled by the local
Parish Council. This money is spent locally on public improvements such as the footpath which will
run around the perimeter of the site and flood mitigation zones to prevent loss of harvest and
damage to local properties. The 43 acre site also accommodates sheep who graze in between the
rows of panels.

For further information on Sevor Farm Solar please visit the project website:

www.sevorfarmsolar.co.uk

Contact

Please contact Paul Loran, the dedicated UK solar project developer who will be able to assist you
further and answer any questions you may have:

Telephone: 01926 331220

Email: paul.loran@eneco.com
Post: 3-4 Athena Court, Athena Drive, Tachbrook Park, Warwick, CV34 6RT