Land larger than the size of Arbroath is likely to be transformed into solar farms in an energy revolution critics have branded “monstrous”.
New solar developments under consideration in Angus and Perth and Kinross will, if built, measure more than 900 hectares (ha) in total, The Courier has found.
Arbroath measures 898 ha, or 8.98 km2, according to the Angus Local Development plan.
Risk solar will ‘swamp’ Angus farmland
The total 900 ha land area includes solar panels, the infrastructure around them and, in some cases, attached battery storage units.
Lunanhead farm shop owner Jude Foster is concerned about the overall effect of solar units “swamping” farmland.
She said: “If they are all passed it will be monstrous. It is going to transform the area into an industrial site. It should be countryside.”
Jude spearheaded an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to halt a battery storage scheme on farmland near Lunanhead. The batteries store power from a range of renewables.
She suggested people were unlikely to be aware of the scale of the solar developments currently on the drawing board.
Installing more solar panels on building rooftops would have less impact than putting them in rural areas, she argued.
“But it’s not only about renewables. It’s about money,” she said.
Others living close to proposed developments agree with Jude.
They believe many of the current proposals are too big and will destroy local amenity.
Loss of prime agricultural land and public right to roam, as well as damage to local wildlife, are among their concerns.
Concerns Scottish Government has set ‘big solar’ precedent
The applications we studied are at various stages of the planning process. They are currently live on the councils’ planning portal and have been updated within the last 18 months.
Some have received full approval while in other cases developers have submitted only very early plans and have yet to submit a full planning application.
We only considered larger applications.
That mean the figures do not include solar farms that are already in operation, such as the units in Errol or outside Arbroath.
Although there is no guarantee all those under consideration will eventually be built.
Campaigners, however, in both local authority areas are concerned the Scottish Government has already set a precedent in favour of large scale solar.
Ministers overturned Angus Council’s decision to refuse an application for a solar farm at Berryhill, near Fowlis, in September. That was one of the largest farms under consideration in Scotland.
Revised planning rules – The Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 – are also being reworked to enable “more renewable energy generation”.
Supporters of more solar power in Scotland argue they are essential if Scotland is to meet its carbon emissions target and hit Net Zero in 2045, as promised.
Solar, they argue, has fast become the cheapest form of generating electricity in the UK and one of the fastest to deploy.
Support for solar in Angus & Perthshire in race to cut carbon emissions
Angus and Perthshire are attractive locations due to the relative ease of connecting to the national grid.
Developers sometimes plant wild flowers, or farm livestock, between the panels in developments, boosting the technology’s green credentials further.
Montreathmont resident Steven Anderson submitted a formal comment to Angus Council in favour of a solar farm development inside the forest close to his home.
The trees will largely enclose this development.
“The ground under the panels will be safe for ground nesting birds, insects and bugs, good for wildlife.
“Good to hear this plan is closer to completion. [It is a] responsible decision.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the country requires “bold action” to tackle the climate emergency.
“Scotland has some of the most extensive renewable generation capabilities in Europe with which to accelerate our just transition to net zero.
“Potential impacts on communities, nature and other receptors remain important considerations in the decision-making process.
“All applications are subject to full site specific assessments,” he said.
Conversation