Should we be putting lots of solar panels over our car parking spaces in the Sid Valley?
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Should we be putting lots of solar panels on our fields? Are solar farms good for nature? – Vision Group for Sidmouth
It is possible for solar farms and conventional farming to coexist: Agrivoltaic solar farms for East Devon? – Vision Group for Sidmouth
There have been a couple of comments on social media about the granting of permission to build a solar farm in East Devon:
Funny how, for some people, concern regarding “a massive battery system that would cover almost 120 acres of farmland” should apparently prevail in this effort to stop killing our whole planet… (20+) Vision Group for Sidmouth | Facebook
Why not follow the French model and put them over car parks (20+) Vision Group for Sidmouth | Facebook
And here is the link provided to the latest from France:
The French government has passed a law which will require all car parks with more than 80 spaces to install solar canopies over at least half the area they cover. The move is expected to generate around 11 gigawatts of energy – enough to power nearly 8 million homes and the same as around 10 power stations. Solar panels to be legal requirement in French car parks
Here’s a little more information: France to require all large car parks to be covered by solar panels | France | The Guardian and France’s plan for solar panels on all car parks is just the start of an urban renewable revolution
This sends out a powerful signal – that we do indeed need more electricity, but why not produce it where there’s currently the space? And car parks seem to be a good place: Charging points in car parks: but where is the clean reliable electricity? – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Meanwhile in the UK: Solar panel canopies placed on Leicester car park – BBC News
Finally, here’s a nice overview from last month:
There are lots of other locations around the UK, besides car parks, that could also accommodate solar installations and help us ditch fossil fuels, notes Prof Sara Walker at Newcastle University. Cycle paths and railways, for instance, or reservoirs that can be covered with floating solar panels. These also help reduce the evaporative loss of water from reservoirs. “Where we can co-locate solar photovoltaics alongside infrastructure that would be there anyway, like a car park, it enables us to get double use out of the land surface,” she says. Why car parks are the hottest space in solar power – BBC News