Solar

In 2017, solar accounted for 3.4% of Britain’s total electricity generation, up from 3.1% in 2016. Solar power is the third most generated renewable energy in the UK, after wind power and biomass. Worldwide, the UK is surprisingly the sixth largest producer of solar power after China, Japan, Germany, the United States and Italy. Solar farms are large areas of land containing interconnected solar panels positioned together to harvest large amounts of solar energy at the same time. They vary in size – often between one and 100 acres and are usually located in agricultural or rural areas. Solar farms are designed to generate electricity locally and feed into the local electricity grid using a free source of energy (the Sun) to generate electricity on bright, cloudy days as well as in direct sunlight. For every 5 MW installed, a solar farm will power over 1,500 homes annually (based on an average annual consumption of 3,300 kWh of electricity for a house) and save 2,150 tonnes of CO₂. Approximately 25 acres of land is required for every 5 MW of installation. CRE also offers funding packages which enable construction and refinancing once a facility is operational. Like other renewable energies, solar power is entirely ‘clean’ as it does not release any harmful emissions or pollutants. In fact, solar power does the opposite and contributes massively to reducing CO₂ emissions produced by fossil-fuel-powered energies. That means the environment present at a solar farm may have dual-purpose usage with sheep or other animals grazing between rows, and can help to support biodiversity by allowing small animals access to otherwise fenced-off land, with bird and insect fodder plants and wildflowers sown around the modules. A solar farm can represent a time-limited, reversible land use and provide an increased, diversified and stable source of income for landowners. Subject to the specific details of each project, construction period funding may be available from the solar provider, which will then need to be refinanced once the asset is operational.