What are solar farms and how could they benefit you.

Introduction to solar panel farms.

Solar panel farms are large-scale installations of photovoltaic (PV) panels that generate electricity from sunlight. These farms can range in size from a few acres to hundreds of acres. In the UK, they’re usually located in rural areas where there’s enough land available. That’s where the similarities with your typical farm end. (You may still see a sheep or two in the vicinity).

The UK is home to over 1,000 solar farms, with a total capacity of around 13 GW. Some of the largest solar farms in the UK include Llanwern Solar PV Park, with a capacity of 75 MW and Shotwick Solar Park, with a capacity of 72.2 MW.

Solar farms have already shown great potential in helping the UK to generate clean and renewable energy. As solar technology improves and installation costs decrease, solar farms are likely to play an even bigger role in the UK’s energy future.

A quick history of solar farms in the UK.

Solar farm developments began sprouting up around the UK in the early 2010s, spurred by government incentives like the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme introduced in 2010. From 2011 to 2015, the sector grew quickly, with many large-scale installations being developed.

Between 2015 and 2016 reductions in government subsidies, including the ending of the Renewable Obligation Certificate, slowed the development of new solar farms. Despite these bumps in the road, the falling costs of solar technology helped the industry to keep growing, just not at the same pace.

On 1 January 2020, Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariffs were introduced in the UK, replacing the Feed-in Tariffs scheme. While lower than the Feed-in Tariffs scheme, SEG tariffs do still provide an incentive for generating renewable electricity. In the 2020s, there’s been a marked uptick in interest in solar farms, with many large-scale projects now in development.

There are currently at least 25 large-scale solar facilities applying for development consent orders (DCOs) from the UK government. DCOs are the permits needed to build ‘nationally significant’ low-carbon infrastructure in the UK. These have the potential to deliver more than 11 GW extra capacity. The UK has set ambitious solar capacity targets, aiming for 70 GW by 2035, so developments like these are needed if we’re to succeed.

How solar farms work.

What is photovoltaic (PV) technology and how does it work?

Photovoltaic technology is the smart tech behind solar power. It turns sunlight directly into electricity by using special semiconducting materials which release electrons when they are hit by light. These electrons then flow through a circuit, making electricity.

Solar panels are made up of many individual, connected photovoltaic solar cells, all busily generating electricity when exposed to sunlight.

What are the main components of a solar farm?

A large scale solar farm is a major technical operation that can involve a wide range of components. Broadly speaking though, the main components of a solar farm are:

Solar panels: To capture sunlight and convert it into electricity.
Inverters: These devices convert the direct current (DC) electricity produced by the panels into alternating current (AC), which can then be used to power homes and businesses.
Batteries: These store any excess electricity the farm generates before it can be exported to the grid. They also balance the flow of electricity to the grid at times of intermittent solar energy production.
Mounting systems: These hold the solar panels in place and allow them to be angled for maximum sunlight exposure.
Cabling and electrical infrastructure: This connects the solar panels to the inverters and the power grid, allowing the electricity generated by the panels to be distributed.
Monitoring and control systems: Advanced systems will also have systems and equipment to track and optimise the performance of the solar farm to make sure it operates efficiently.

What is the process of converting sunlight into electricity?

As we touched on earlier, converting sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic (PV) technology involves a few key steps:

Sunlight absorption: When sunlight hits a solar panel, the photons (light particles) are absorbed by the semiconducting material within the panel.
Electron release: The absorbed photons transfer their energy to electrons in the semiconductor material, knocking them loose from their atoms. This creates a flow of free electrons.
Electric current generation: The freed electrons are then directed into an electric current by the electric field within the solar cell. This current is captured and converted into usable electricity.
Power conversion: The direct current (DC) electricity generated by the solar panels is converted into alternating current (AC) electricity by inverters. This is the type of electricity that can be used to power homes and businesses.

What are the different types of solar farms?

Utility-scale solar farms.

These are large solar farms designed primarily to supply the grid with electricity. They’re usually built by developers who enter power purchase agreements (PPAs) with utility companies.

The developer then sells the electricity generated from their farm at wholesale prices to the utility company which then distributes it to end customers through the grid. Utility-scale solar farms typically produce 1 MW of electricity at the very least.

Community solar farms.

These are smaller scale solar farms owned and operated by local communities or cooperatives. Unlike large, utility-scale solar farms, community solar farms are typically smaller and focus on providing affordable, locally generated electricity to their members.

These projects allow individuals to invest in and benefit from solar energy even if they can't install panels on their own property.

What are the benefits of solar farms?

What are the environmental benefits of solar farms?

Solar farms provide clean, sustainable energy without the need to burn fossil fuels. In 2022, solar power in the UK produced 14.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. This is 4.4% of the country's total electricity generation, enough to power over 4 million homes. With extra capacity coming online in the near future, solar farms are an important element of the UK’s net zero strategy.

Contrary to what you may have heard, solar farms also have the potential to enhance biodiversity. With thoughtful planting and management, solar farms can create habitats for pollinators which are crucial for agricultural crops.

How about the economic benefits?

Jobs.

The solar farm industry has created thousands of jobs in the UK, both directly in the construction, installation, and maintenance of solar farms, and indirectly in related sectors such as manufacturing and supply chains.

In 2020, the solar industry supported 11,500 jobs nationwide. This figure is likely to have grown since then. At a local level, solar farms can provide much needed employment in rural areas as large scale solar farms require monitoring and maintenance.

Investment.

Solar farms and future projects have attracted lots of investment in the UK, both from domestic and international investors. With the launch of Great British Energy, the UK government is hoping to catalyse further private investment in the sector.

Business rate revenue.

New solar farm projects contribute to business rate revenue for local councils, which can be used to fund local services and infrastructure.

Energy independence and security.

By reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, solar farms are helping to build the UK’s energy independence, security and stability. This is a key focus of the government’s Net Zero strategy.

What are the challenges and considerations of solar farms?

Land use and space requirements.

The land type and size needed to build a solar farm depends on the scale and ambition of the plans. According to the trade body Solar Energy UK, for existing solar farm projects approximately six acres of land is required for every megawatt (MW) of power. Using these estimates a 50 MW solar farm would need approximately 300 acres of land.

Solar Energy UK estimates that the UK’s current ground-mounted solar covers an estimated 230 square kilometres. This is equivalent to just under 0.1% of land in the UK. Carbon Brief notes that this is around 0.5% of the land currently used for farming and about a fifth of the space currently taken up by golf courses.

Nevertheless, people do raise concerns about the impact of solar farms on biodiversity and agricultural production. To allay these concerns, the UK government has introduced guidelines for solar farms, which specify that developers carry out environmental impact assessments before starting construction.

In the UK, the most suitable land for solar farms is typically on:

Brownfield sites: This is former industrial or commercial land that is no longer in use. This type of land is usually already developed with existing infrastructure. This reduces the need to build new infrastructure to accommodate a solar farm.
Lower grade agricultural land: Land graded 3b, 4, and 5 is deemed less suitable for growing crops or grazing livestock than higher graded land. This type of land can be used for solar farms without making a big dent on agricultural output.
Flat or gently sloping land: It’s easier and cheaper to develop solar farms on flat land. It also maximises sunlight exposure, which is crucial for making solar farms as efficient as possible.
Land with good grid connections: Finding a plot with good existing grid infrastructure is also key as it’ll allow connection to the grid without lots of extra expense.

What are the Initial setup costs and maintenance of a solar farm?

Again, initial setup costs and ongoing maintenance costs depend on the size of the solar farm, its location and the specification of the panels and technology used. The average cost of building a solar farm in the UK is around £1 million per megawatt (MW) of capacity. So, our 50 MW solar farm example above would need 300 acres, and around £50 million of investment to build.

Maintenance costs can be tricky to predict, but some industry figures estimate around 1% of initial start up costs, or £12 per kW of installed capacity. For our 50 MW solar farm example this would give a range of £500,000 - £600,000 per year for maintenance costs.

Despite the initial cost and ongoing maintenance costs, solar farms can offer a sound investment due to the opportunity to generate revenue from selling energy to the national grid.

How to handle intermittency with storage solutions.

The energy that a solar farm produces doesn’t always align with energy demand from the grid. This is known as intermittency. To tackle this, most solar farms also need to install batteries or other storage solutions to store excess electricity produced during peak sunlight hours. This energy can then be distributed to the grid when demand is high. This ensures that solar farms can provide consistent energy supply even when the sun isn’t shining brightly.

Batteries can also help to smooth out fluctuations in solar energy production by mitigating things like changing sunlight intensity, seasonal variations and other weather conditions. Usually batteries are installed on solar farms near to the solar panel setup for ease of connection.

The future of solar farms.

Are there solar innovations and technological advancements around the corner?

Like most other technologies, solar tech is constantly developing. Here are just a few developments in the industry that have the potential to improve efficiency and performance soon.

Bifacial solar panels: These panels can absorb sunlight from both sides, boosting their energy output significantly. As a result they’re gaining popularity for large-scale solar farms.
Perovskite solar cells: This emerging type of solar cell could offer higher efficiency and lower production costs compared to traditional silicon-based cells. Perovskite cells are lightweight, flexible, and can be printed onto various surfaces, opening up new possibilities for solar applications.
Agrivoltaics: By integrating solar panels with agriculture, known as agrivoltaics, solar farm developers can generate both electricity and crops simultaneously. This efficient approach to land use can mean the best of both worlds - clean energy production without sacrificing agricultural land.
Improving energy storage: Battery technology is also improving and getting cheaper, offering the potential of greater storage and improved performance at lower cost.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning: The solar industry is not immune to the AI boom. By harnessing the power of AI and machine learning, solar farm developers can tap in to efficiency gains for their solar installations.

Overall, as solar technology and manufacturing continues to improve, it's likely that the costs of solar equipment will decrease. This could make launching a solar farm more feasible for more landowners and businesses, leading to an increase in the number of solar farms in the UK.

What is the growth and expansion potential of solar farms in the UK?

The future of the UK solar farm industry looks bright. The UK government has ambitious targets to increase solar capacity to 70 GW by 2035 as part of net zero and energy security plans.

With the launch of Great British Energy, the UK government has set out a vision of making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. Articulating this vision could provide investors with the confidence to allocate the high levels of capital needed to fund the UK transition to net zero. This could include further solar farm developments.

The new Labour government has already shown signs of being supportive of the solar farm industry. Within three days of taking power, the new UK government approved three large solar farms in Suffolk/Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland. Together, these will generate 1.35 GW of power.

As alluded to above, there are also over 20 applications for large solar farms currently in progress, with the potential to boost solar energy production in the UK by 11 GW.

Beyond Great British Energy, there are a number of existing projects in the UK to promote solar farms. These include:

Solar Taskforce: Under the previous government, a new Solar Taskforce was set up and given the responsibility to meet the 70 GW target. This includes cutting installation costs, boosting skills and jobs, and improving grid access.

Support for rooftop and ground-mounted solar: Along with a push to approve large-scale ground-mounted solar farms using underused agricultural land, the Sunak government also highlighted the potential for commercial buildings, schools, warehouses, and car parks as sites for solar installations.

What role do solar farms play in global renewable energy strategies?

Solar farms are a fundamental piece of the planet’s net zero puzzle. Countries like China, the US and Japan are all investing heavily in solar energy production.

By the end of 2022, global solar photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity was 1,046.61 GW, an almost tenfold increase in capacity since 2013. Here’s a quick view of the scale of investment by the biggest players in the global solar space.

China is the world leader in solar PV installed capacity, with 392.43 GW as of 2022, representing 37.5% of the global market. China added a significant 87.4 GW in that year alone. The US holds the second position globally, reaching 110.1 GW of cumulative solar installations by the end of 2022. In that year alone, solar installations accounted for 46% of new electricity generation capacity.

Meanwhile, Japan, which aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, had 73.83 GW of installed solar capacity by the end of 2022. To support its net zero targets, Japan has enacted regulation mandating solar panel installations on new houses built by large-scale homebuilders in Tokyo after April 2025.

Beyond these big hitters, governments and communities all over the world are investing in solar, aiming to capitalise on the enormous amounts of energy that the sun shines down on the planet every day.

No solar farms in your region? Don’t worry, you can still get solar power for your home with E.ON Next.

What are solar farms and their benefits.