<
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/uks-biggest-solar-project-shaped-sheep-farmers-3515218>
"The developers of the biggest solar farm proposed in the UK are seeking to win
over local opposition by allowing thousands of sheep to graze under the panels.
Plans for a solar farm near Newark, Nottinghamshire, covering the area of a
town the size of Stevenage are set to trigger the Government’s biggest
anti-Nimby battle yet, with many residents angered at its size and likely
impact on the countryside.
The Great North Road Solar Park development would take up an area of more than
11 sq miles and be more than twice as big as the largest UK solar farm approved
to date. It would generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes.
Developers hope to make the project more palatable to locals by including a
range of measures to boost wildlife round the site.
These include the planting of approximately 50,000 trees, the addition of
approximately 46 kilometres of hedgerows and plans for the creation of 19
permissive routes through the solar park site to provide improved access.
But perhaps the most significant measure will see up to 4,000 sheep introduced
to the site from 2027, when construction begins.
“Around 1,000 acres [1.5 square miles] of land will initially be grazed by
sheep underneath the panels, rising to a potential 4,000 acres,” a spokesperson
for the project said.
The sheep will be managed by local farmers Phil Weaver and Pete Wilson, with
the flock doubling up as grass cutters, a function that would save the project
£5m in mowing costs across its 40-year lifespan, developers Elements Green
estimate. In return, on hotter days the sheep will benefit from the shading the
solar panels will provide, they argue."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
