Opportunities for Solar

COVID 19 continues to dominate all of our thoughts especially in terms of local government services. There is a debate emerging which closely links the recovery with sustainability issues and only last week  the Committee on Climate Change added to this argument. National government leads the way but we all know that local authorities have a big role, however sometimes the practicalities of how to realise that role can be difficult to imagine and take forward.

Recent research by Solar Power Portal has highlighted that a record amount of new capacity was added to the UK large-scale solar pipeline during April. The total pipeline – spanning solar farms at the scoping/screening stage, through to having planning conditions discharged pre-build – now exceeds 8GW. If the 8GW figure doesn’t mean much to you, don’t worry. There are things to consider when looking into the potential of solar but knowing about the technology isn’t necessarily one of them!

For a successful scheme a couple of things are needed – a site (usually land but largescale rooftops can be included); a customer for the energy (including the council itself); a financial model; planning permission and; grid access. Most local authorities have land holdings and some have investigated their use as a solar farm but by no means all – indeed because this is a fairly new area of activity for councils, many have not even considered it. Feasibility is an inexpensive exercise which can be completed over a short timescale.

You can be sure that if the market is growing and multinational companies are interested then there is long term financial gain to be had – as well as the benefits to the grid of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and reduced demand. That brings us back to the role of local authorities. If there is a chance for councils to take a share of an expanding market with national and local benefits, they should be investigating the opportunity. At APSE Energy we are helping about 25 councils and we could help you. To meet climate targets we need investment at scale and solar is an opportunity councils cannot afford to ignore.