I am sure you have noticed the proliferation of large solar panels on agricultural land – often what looks like really good agricultural land too. I was musing over this recently when I saw a large expanse of land covered at a low level with panels. It was not possible to grow a crop underneath, barely possible to graze animals.
So, what has caused this to happen – clearly the incentive for farmers makes this worthwhile; grants, subsidy, generation refund. It seems the incentives are greater than for growing crops. One of the massive areas I noted was in prime asparagus growing country; and yet we are happy to import asparagus from Peru and Mexico – the main source of supply at my supermarket; even available in the prime UK growing season.
This observation coincided with an article I read that indicated that much of our food import is coming to the UK from South America. I have been fortunate to travel to South America and I can assure you it is a long way – so is this bonkers that we are prepared to pay to subsidise for covering our prime agricultural fields and yet incur huge air miles on our ‘fresh’ food? I am sure the economics work out for farmers in South America, the UK farmers and supermarkets but what about the ecological impact and all of the political capital made at Rio / COP summits and more.
I am also sure that the price paid to people in these far-off parts of the world is making it valuable for them to grow such crops for our consumption. Yet I am left wondering how much irreplaceable rainforest has been destroyed. How much of the hillside will soon be washed into the nearest river. I have seen hillsides on fire, in the upper reaches of the Amazon tributaries, destroying vegetation for a crop that will only supply short-term productivity before the rains wash away all the eco system, having taken centuries to develop. But I guess if you are a civil servant sitting in an office in Whitehall you may not realize….or choose to turn a politically insensitive cheek to the issue. You may also not see the panels that are slowly destroying the UK – look at Scotland and the way much of the scenery now shows the scar of ‘green energy’. How ‘green’ is it really? How much of the turbine capacity is used?
I have also seen pictures of the large landfill pits dug for the ‘sails’ of these turbines when they are cracked and weak and no longer serviceable or safe. The sails in question are a similar size the wing of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
If solar panels are so good why are not all public buildings installed with them? All public land such as refuse/recycling facilities; schools have large roofs, as do most council offices, government buildings (not just the Houses of Parliament) and so much more. If they are a good idea why is the commercial sector incentivized, when seemingly few public buildings and land seem to have been so used for generation and possible rebate and income generation? A sensitive question that I will not dig further – you may choose to draw some conclusions. And how is it that planning permission is granted when the same councils do not have panels on the rooftops and space they own? Interesting.
It is strange that the average housing development has panels spoiling the look of the roofs, all in the sake of ‘green’ when other parts of the built environment escape these – again notably public buildings. Renewable energy is crucial, why has the Houses of Parliament escaped, or Westminster Cathedral, or St Paul’s Cathedral – they seem to face the right way too? Is this a case of NIMBYism as there is an acknowledgement that they are unsightly? But that need not be the case!
It concerns me that we are heading in the direction of the Health & Safety issue where common sense is being removed from common practice – often as people are too keen to critisise and sue.
Now don’t get me wrong, I to am keen that we preserve our earth for future generations.
I am also keen too that we have a strong capitalist economy. Why? Because without successful businesses that make profit we would have NO public sector – it is the commercial sector that provides the money. Albeit I have heard some people who are paid in the public sector state that they pay their taxes too. Err, I think they missed the point that all of the income on which they pay their taxes comes from the private sector.
So what are the solutions? Well they are many and this article has no intention to address many but just to get our minds working what about the following to start the energy flowing:
- There is a continual cry that we do not have enough housing and more must be built – so if every new house or home had solar panels as an integral part of the roof, and they looked like normal tiles rather than the stuck-on afterthought, we would make a substantial start. It would avoid the third-party retro fit panel businesses cashing in. Also, as all new builds would have to have such tiles, the cost would fall dramatically. (Remember the cost of early flat screens televisions compared with the cost today?) Now if government subsidy had been put into this rather than the hideous retro fit seen on some thatched roofs, we may have a better-looking housing stock and housing estates. The difference between short-term kneejerk reaction compared with longer term planning and vision.
- All new commercial building to have solar panel roofs – tile or not, there would be a great opportunity for vast swathes of good quality solar generation.
- All new agricultural buildings, many previously subsidised by the EU (what will happen now we are post Brexit who knows – farmers are sufficiently powerful enough to have their cash shortage and subsidy voice heard). They are also the main custodians of our countryside and I have met many farmers who take their environmental and legacy responsibility incredibly seriously.
- Every new public build to have solar panel roofing – schools, hospitals, local and national government buildings, the public sector quangos that are re-emerging and their buildings.
- Every lottery funded building scheme.
- All universities – there are lots of roofs in Oxford that many a PM would have known about that seem not to have panels.
- The private schools that are classed as charities, perhaps penalised if their tax dogging is not used for power generation.
- More incineration of waste that currently goes to landfill – a dual positive impact. Energy now, often that can power a large town. No rotting waste that will eventually pollute, even if not in the next century…it will one day. Currently we are kicking the can down the road rather than picking it up.
And then we get into the realm of unnecessary power uses. I was on the motorway recently and there was a huge sign telling me the price of fuel at the next 3 services stations – and with one exception all of the six prices were the same; only one was different, by 1 penny. This was a blot on the landscape, totally unnecessary and also cost power to create and power to run – such a waste. Or does this mean that we soon see the same sort of signs when we enter every town or village – I hope not. Information for information’s sake.
We waste so much power on unnecessary things and seem to have a mentality that we then must build more methods of power supply. Let us look at the usage of power and see if we can reduce this.
So what is the next step? If we got some groups of people together and then asked them to come up with some ideas we would be shocked at just how sensible and inventive people can be. Clearly the public servants and politicians haven’t a clue else they would have done something decent and thoughtful over the past decades. We sadly see some of the environmental wreckage they have allowed, even encouraged, that will be a tiresome legacy they should be ashamed of. No, the groups we need are grandparents who are starting to care about the legacy they will leave for their grandchildren. School children who are so inventive and also do care about the fact they may see the polar bear become extinct, our planet further ruined. People from all walks of life.
Many bemoan the fact that they do not have the deposit for housing. Is this because of the expectation to be able to socialise, eat out, buy their cafe-chain coffee, have regular holidays abroad, and also keep a decent car on the road? The energy impact is not to be dismissed – I live in a city where the clubs stay open to the early hours, and McDonalds is open for 22 hours a day. So think of the energy use of keeping a town alive at night! Choice we hear; I want my children to have what I didn’t – yet many don’t appreciate what they have as it came too easily. Don’t be a dinosaur I also hear – and yet all too soon if the population carries on as it does, we humans may follow the fate of the dinosaur.
Can I stress that the critical thing that must happen to all of the ideas that come from these groups is to take appropriate action. All too often ideas are sought, and then everything is done in the public sector to stifle and slow down any action through endless committee, reviews, bureaucracy and inability for anyone to make a decision.
It should take no longer than a day for a rule to be passed that all new houses must be built with attractive solar tiles that look like normal roof tiles – the building sector may scream but if the price is right, they are engaged in the design and process of making it work, answers will be found, manufacture developed, supply chains created. And a visually more appealing natural and built landscape attained
Certainly, time for the talk to be turned into action.
My best wishes,
Peter
