Free-range solar lamb or chicken!

Sheep grazing under the solar panels at Newlands Farm, Axminster, Devon
Sheep grazing under the solar panels at Newlands Farm, Axminster, Devon

Guidance published today showcases a new generation of farms that produce both food and clean energy - with solar a 'lifeline' to struggling farmers

More and more farmers are combining their sheep, chickens or other poultry with rows of solar panels and producing a double output of food and clean, home-grown power.

New guidance published today by the BRE National Solar Centre, compiled in partnership with the National Farmers Union, the Solar Trade Association and a number of leading solar companies, for the first time explains good practice in coupling conventional agriculture and ground-mounted solar electricity generation.

The guidance explains how solar farms can easily be combined with free-range chickens and other poultry and are often used for the grazing of sheep. They are said to be particularly suited to the fattening of young ‘hill-bred’ lambs.

Devon farmer Gilbert Churchill last year chose to supplement his agricultural enterprise by leasing 13 hectares of land for a 4.2 megawatt solar panel installation
Devon farmer Gilbert Churchill last year chose to supplement his agricultural enterprise by leasing 13 hectares of land for a 4.2 megawatt solar panel installation

Jonny Williams from the BRE National Solar Centre that put together the guidance commented:

“Through working in partnership, the solar industry and the NFU have produced a valuable guidance document that sets out best practice for the integration of solar farms with conventional agriculture. The guide complements the National Solar Centre’s existing publications on planning and biodiversity.”

The addition of a solar farm gives farmers a year-round ‘solar harvest’ to supplement their regular business.

Guy Smith, Vice President of the National Farmers Union said:

“It is clear that renewable energy can support profitable farming, underpinning traditional agricultural production with additional returns that make businesses more resilient. This guidance document shows how solar farms can indeed be multifunctional, simultaneously meeting food and energy needs as well as enhancing biodiversity. Only a negligible land take is required to make a major contribution to Britain's clean energy needs, so the future looks bright for solar grazed lamb and free-range solar chicken.”

Leonie Greene, Head of External Affairs at the Solar Trade Association, said:

“This latest planning guidance complements the Solar Trade Association’s efforts to ensure that the solar industry works in partnership, not in competition, with farming. This explains how to do free-range, home-grown solar at its best – a secure solution to Britain’s energy crisis that generates clean energy side-by-side with food production. That roast lamb Sunday lunch has just got a lot sunnier.”

“Solar can be combined with agriculture because the panels only take up a small amount of the available land and it is low-impact. Solar makes no noise or waste, and has no moving parts. Solar can actually increase security for our farmers, and this makes it even harder to understand why the Government is proposing to deprive solar farms of resources compared to other low-carbon technologies.”

The guidance makes clear that the addition of a solar array does not require a reduction in the number of animals – once the plant is built farmers can continue to graze sheep at normal stocking density. Once the solar farm is in place 95% of a field is still accessible to vegetation growth and agricultural use.

This ‘Agricultural Good Practice Guidance for Solar Farms’ joins a suite of guidance on best practice for solar developments published by the National Solar Centre. Earlier this year the National Solar Centre, with the Solar Trade Association and leading conservation NGOs, published the ‘Biodiversity Guidance for Solar Developments’ on how to use solar farms as wildlife havens.

Devon farmer Gilbert Churchill, who last year added solar to his grazing land near Axminster in Devon, said:

“It’s environmentally friendly and it suits the farm industry very much because it gives a

secure regular income. That’s very important to me and to other farmers as the industry is

struggling at the moment to make ends meet. It’s a lifeline.”

“With solar panels you can run sheep, as I do. It’s very quiet, you don’t know it’s there, and it’s generating power for the local community.”

Importantly for farmers, it has been proposed that the presence of livestock on the land, when contracted in the right way, could enable farmers to continue to claim the Basic Payment under the Common Agricultural Policy. However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is still reviewing the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme rules and has not yet made a final decision on eligibility of grazed solar farms.

Newlands Farm, Axminster, Devon

Devon farmer Gilbert Churchill last year chose to supplement his agricultural enterprise by leasing 13 hectares of land for a 4.2 megawatt solar panel installation. The solar farm was developed in early 2013 by TGC Renewables and is now operated and managed by Lightsource Renewable Energy . Mr Churchill used the land for grazing prior to building the solar farm, and his sheep still graze the same land in between the rows of panels.

Mr. Churchill, of Newlands Farm in Axminster, has nothing but praise for the large scale solar farm that has now diversified the income of his farm. He told us, “It’s environmentally friendly and it suits the farmers’ industry very much because it gives them a regular income. That’s very important to me and to other farmers as the industry is struggling at the moment to make ends meet. It’s a lifeline.” According to Mr. Churchill, the additional income “will safeguard the farm’s survival for the future”.

Newlands solar farm is close to the market town of Axminster in the east Devon countryside. The farm has undergone many changes since completion of the solar construction, including the planting of new hedgerows and the installation of rabbit-proof fencing (which can be removed once the hedgerow is established). The choice of hedge species ensures that there is an all-year-round visual screen between Crewkerne Road and the solar farm. Alongside the screening benefits, the holly planted supports local nesting birds and provides winter feed for small mammals.

Mr Churchill explains, “[Lightsource] put in lots of hedges to hide it all away, which is brilliant, and the people who came in to do it were very good. I’ve got hollies, beeches, and some hawthorn. That was done straight after and is growing nicely. I’ve got wild bees under the panels, this past year we’ve had masses of butterflies I haven’t seen for years, ladybirds, grasshoppers, lots of insects all coming back and enjoying the shelter. And the birds love it! The birds are absolutely enjoying it because it’s a place where they can live and be happy and there’s lots of food!”

The farm produces enough green electricity annually to power 1,285 average homes which, in local terms, is about half of the homes in Axminster. This electrical output saves around 2,192 tonnes of carbon each year compared to traditional energy generation methods, which is equivalent to taking approximately 487 family-sized cars off the road every single year.