Phil Sturgeon

Solar farms arent harming the countryside, you just don’t like the way they look.

Example 103: insect populations boom from shade and wildflower habitat.

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-insect-populations-flourish-habitats-solar.html

Insect populations flourish in the restored habitats of solar energy facilities

Bumblebees buzz from flower to flower, stopping for a moment under a clear blue Minnesota sky. Birds chirp, and tall grasses blow in the breeze. This isn't a scene from a pristine nature preserve or national park. It is nestled between photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays on rehabilitated farmland.

Phys.org
Dec 2, 2024 at 8:30amWeb
Show threadTheriacDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon
there is also no reason buidling regs can't be ammended to require buildings to have their roof areas fitted with solar panels, and offering grants as incentives. Think of the untapped acreage in cities.
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@Theriac exactly, we need to be doing both. It’s deranged that the conversation continues to be about utility scale solar vs roof top solar co-located with the demand it’s trying to serve. Obviously both.
Show threadSu_GDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon I would rather see solar farms than drought-stricken land & animals. 🙂
Show threadThe Enemy is WithinDec 2, 2024

@Philsturgeon

That seems to be the main argument against wind turbines too.

In a recent case in Ireland a wind farm project was halted because residents said it would spoil their view.

Extreme weather will have a disastrous impact on scenery?

In moderation wind turbines can be quite captivating.

#donegal
#Mass

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@Deixis9 people who want a perfectly unobstructed view of the appocolypse they’re disproportionately bringing upon us all are not our friends and should not be pandered to.
Show threadKarin SorenbyDec 2, 2024
@Deixis9 @Philsturgeon spoil their view!?..hmmm..let"s consider what is important right now..
Show threadDave McDec 2, 2024
@Deixis9 @Philsturgeon block their view of... the completely man made monoculture dessert that we call "the countryside"?
Show threadHDDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon certainly much better than deep ploughed monocultures of Corn and Soy.
Show threadGene PasquetDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon I remember they found that sheep would graze happily underneath panels too, apparently they can be spaced out enough that the grass will keep growing below.
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@etenil absolutely. All that and more over here. https://philsturgeon.com/unf-king-the-climate-renewable-energy/
Unf**king the Climate - Part 6: The Role of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is not just the cleanest way to generate electricity, it has long been the cheapest. Switching our fossil fuel energy systems over to renewable energy around the world is not just crucial to the climate crisis, but will save a huge amount of money for all of us.

Phil Sturgeon
Show threadDibsDec 2, 2024

@Philsturgeon people hate wild flowers, though. Look at all the buddleja on the railways they used to hack down. And no-mow-may is about as popular around here as... having your own grass...

That suddenly seems very ironic now I write it down...

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@dtwx buddleqh is an invasive species and I hack it down. I also sow wildflower meadows. 🫡
Show threadDibsDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon I clearly chose a bad example.
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@dtwx ok. I’m not sure what to do with a statement like “people hate wildflowers” regardless. Yes, we’ve lost 97% of them in the U.K. through agricultural changes and development. Restoring them is hard, underfunded, but popular, and this is showing how we can restore them in a way that helps fight the climate crisis and energy crisis. Nothing to be upset about there.
Show threadDibsDec 4, 2024

@Philsturgeon

I love the idea of wildflower meadows that also contain solar panels but, basically, I'm saying our local council cuts down wildflowers in the name of neatness and has the backing of the broader public. So I'm quite sceptical about how "those" people will feel about this...

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 4, 2024

@dtwx which council cut down which wildflower meadow? Name some names and I’ll have a word.

Vocal weirdos demanding smooth grass are always a minority, they’re just a loud one.

Consultation with locals focusing around “wild patches” often goes better, fenced off so dogs don’t get ticks or whatever they’re worried about.

Show threadDibsDec 5, 2024
@Philsturgeon wasn't an entire meadow but an example buried in here https://www.facebook.com/LLTCNews/posts/pfbid02e6URbsdwGkWDMQ6sWWdU74oSVqdU6oyK7w9DfyKKHbPqR4BquvksRDWwf8DK9s4al
Leighton-Linslade Town Council Official

*** NO MOW MAY*** Thank you to everyone who has sent in feedback regarding our No Mow May initiative, we wanted to encourage our Natures little helpers throughout the month of May to help the town...

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 5, 2024
@dtwx I saw one very deranged person complaining who he vegans but didn’t spot anything relevant. Not a Facebook user so perhaps cannot see the whole thing.
Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon I have one issue with rural solar farms; they change land use from agricultural to industrial. I'm from a rural area, I have seen landowners doing this in order to turn agricultural land for example near main roads or motorways into high value industrial development land for distribution warehouses, with a ~25 year time between the two. That's not against the solar projects themselves, but should be taken into account when evaluating how they are used.
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@JennyList land use change is a much larger conversation. I couldn’t hazard a guess at what percentage of landowners are trying to get uplift on their land bur it’s extremely high. They’ll find a way whether it’s panels or barns or conversions.
Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon this is true.
Show threadAngharadHafodDec 2, 2024

@JennyList @Philsturgeon that sounds to me like a failing in the planning process. It's still possible to make agricultural youth of the land around and within a solar farm. And as far as I know there isn't such an issue with wind farms, were the surrounding lounge remains agricultural.

The beauty of solar is that it has no long-term detrimental effect on the land or environment, and has little short term impact. Compare wind (danger to birds, unsightly, beating noise nearby, high maintenance)

Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024

@AngharadHafod @Philsturgeon yes, the land use thing is a planning fail.

However, uk rural planning is not always transparent, so perhaps it's working as designed.

Show threadMaddogecoDec 2, 2024
@JennyList @Philsturgeon they don’t have to change the use. My local solar farm is the New England solar farm it’s currently 400MW and currently the biggest in Australia (it’s about to expand). It was built on prime sheep grazing land. Today 6000 sheep live under the panels. Wool quality is up as they can shelter from the rain. The grass has a longer growing season as dew falls from the panels and protects from frost. They no longer need to mow between the panels.
Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024
@Maddogeco @Philsturgeon i was talking about the UK. But yes, the net benefit of the diversity is undeniable and visible.
Show threadMaddogecoDec 2, 2024
@JennyList @Philsturgeon I think we have only just scratched the surface of agrovoltaics. I can see solar and horticulture maybe orchards working well together.
Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024

@Maddogeco @Philsturgeon as a half-shade for crops, definitely.

I am.concerned whether a solar array could be made portable enough to remove for larger agricultural operations, thus limiting the type of crops it could be used over.

Show threadJenny ListDec 2, 2024

@Maddogeco @Philsturgeon also worth mentioning small scale biomass power as another existing operation. I wrote about it for Hackaday a while back.

https://hackaday.com/2024/09/05/if-wood-isnt-the-biomass-answer-what-is/

If Wood Isn’t The Biomass Answer, What Is?

As we slowly wean ourselves away from our centuries-long love affair with fossil fuels in an attempt to reduce CO2 emissions and combat global warming, there has been a rapid expansion across a bro…

Hackaday
Show threadJorge CandeiasDec 2, 2024

@Philsturgeon that depends. In some occasions they do harm the countryside. For example, in Portugal there have been cases where lots of sobreiros (don't know the English name of the tree), a protected species, were cut down to make way for solar farms.

I'm all for solar farming, but I'm against this kind of it, and I'm also not very favourable to high-density farms. If panels are interspersed with vegetation we have the best of two worlds.

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024

@jorgecandeias poor siting decision. That is a failure in regulation and lacking a proper environmental impact assessment process. We have muppets trying to put wind farms in peat bogs and that needs to be banned.

That’s a different point to “solar panels in a field” which is what the study/toot is referring too. https://philsturgeon.com/nimby-vs-yimby/

Navigating the Nuances of Development: Beyond NIMBY and YIMBY

Reducing every discussion down to NIMBY/YIMBY ignores that fact that every single project has its own particular cost/benefit analysis and environmental impact assessment.

Phil Sturgeon
Show threadJorge CandeiasDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon The thing is: environmental impact assessments are mandatory for these kinds of projects. However, there's a nice little detail in the law that allows for anything, pretty much, if they invoke "high strategic interest" of the projects. And there you go: everything is of "high strategic interest" now.
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@jorgecandeias yeah that’s the problem I’m describing too. Need to sort that out,
Show threadJorge CandeiasDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon (by the way, apparently the English name for sobreiro is "cork oak". I got curius and looked it up.)
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@jorgecandeias I love a cork oak! Thank you. Let’s just say my comments are very U.K. centric and I hope Portugal manages to sort its shit. California going through the same money grubbing arseholes mangling Joshua trees and it’s not what any genuine climate activists want. Just businesses being businesses.
Show threadJames WellsDec 2, 2024

@Philsturgeon
I wonder if they are seeing similar recoveries with the vertical mini-panels they are starting to deploy.

My guess is no, owing to their smaller profile and shadow

Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 2, 2024
@nikatjef if there’s less shade then there won’t be as many shade preferring plants but that doesn’t mean there’s not a benefit to letting this become a wildflower meadow. Grazing end of summer will keep fertility low and slow native species to prosper, just not the same species as if there was more shade.
Show threadGreg BellDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon and I think they look cool
Show threadLionelBDec 2, 2024

@Philsturgeon

Climate change is trashing the look of the countryside far more than solar panels ever could.

Show threadWarlocklordDec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon they're bad for tortoises
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 3, 2024
@zagebo you’re describing bad planning regulation and siting. It’s got nothing to do with solar panels. Building a Starbucks or a tennis court or a go kart track would also be damaging for tortoises. No need to be silly here.
Show threadDavid S (inactive)Dec 2, 2024
@Philsturgeon a similar story to offshore wind farms which boost fish sticks by creating huge no-trawl zones
Show threadAdvanced Persistent TeapotDec 3, 2024
@Philsturgeon there's a bunch of signs near me saying something like "Say NO to 54 acre solar farm" and I'm like, wtf? That sounds like the kind of thing where we should be shouting for them to build it faster
Show threadThe Enemy is WithinDec 6, 2024

@Philsturgeon

The 'aesthetic appearance' of solar and wind facilities is a very simple argument against their use.

Another is their output but fossil fuels are actually very inefficient compared to wind and solar.

This is the the primary energy fallacy.

https://medium.com/@jan.rosenow/have-we-been-duped-by-the-primary-energy-fallacy-167f53c58961

Have we been duped by the primary energy fallacy?

Whenever I post something on renewable energy on social media it never takes long for negative comments to arrive in my feed. One type of…

Medium
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 10, 2024
@Deixis9 can you double check what you’ve said there and make sure it’s what you meant? Not following you so far (great article you’ve linked to there of course)
Show threadThe Enemy is WithinDec 10, 2024
@Philsturgeon I suppose I could...
Show threadPhil SturgeonDec 11, 2024
@Deixis9 still not really sure what you’re saying mate.
Show threadThe Enemy is WithinDec 11, 2024

@Philsturgeon I was referring to this previous reply I made to you.

A long time ago I now realise.

Never mind.