Why oppose these solar projects?
Key issues
- Sheer size
- Loss of highly productive land
- Land use and food security
- Visual impact
- Safety concerns
- Noise concerns
- Habitat loss
- Traffic impact
- Loss of amenity
- Lack of mitigation or compensation for residents directly affected (loss of amenities, devaluation of property, disruption during construction etc)
- Sourcing concerns
Sheer size
The South Kent Energy Park would cover 1500 acres, the size of 840 football pitches. Up to 1.35 million solar panels could cover the area. This would make it one of the largest solar parks in the UK to date. If this goes ahead, and the other giant solar and storage projects in the TEC register are also approved, the cumulative impact could see up to 8000 acres of land across the Marsh carpeted in solar panels, or 12.5% of the total land coverage of Romney Marsh. In real terms, this could mean more than 7 million panels covering large swathes of productive Marsh farmland.
Loss of highly productive land
We are very concerned about the impact these projects will have on local farming activities and the farming economy. Romney Marsh is fortunate to boast top quality fertile land (grade 1 and 2 in the land classification system). Combined with the number of other giant scale solar projects proposed for Best and Most Versatile (BMV) farmland across the UK, especially Grade 1 land, we are concerned about the impact this will have on the UK’s food security and the UK as a whole, especially at a time of global geopolitical instability and volatility. The land available for the South Kent Energy Park is some of the best on the Marsh. The total acreage for that project would remove the equivalent of more than 7000 tonnes of wheat from the UK food system. The UK imports 40% of its food - a figure that would increase quickly if top grade land is turned over to solar energy farming. Currently, the UK imports up to 15% of its energy supply - necessary especially when it cannot produce enough from renewables.
Land use and food security
The UK does not have a national Land Use Strategy to protect Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land from overdevelopment and industrialisation. Only 3% of UK farm land is classifieds as Grade 1, the most fertile, productive and versatile. Only 18% of farmland is classified as grade 2. In other words, about one fifth of farm land can produce significantly higher yields of crops than other areas. Not all grade 1 land is farmed in this way, but it has the potential. These prime areas of farm land happen to be in many areas where dozens of giant-scale solar energy projects are being targeted: Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. The government does not have an impact assessment showing the effect that removing 10s of 1000s of acres of the most productive farmland from the domestic food system will have on national food security. However, it is likely to lead to greater dependence on imports that cost more and have a higher carbon footprint. It would result in the UK offshoring and increasing its food production carbon footprint in order to onshore more energy production - energy that relies on the sun shining which cannot always be guaranteed in the UK. This is a false economy.
Visual impact
The panels are likely to be 3.5-4.5 meters high based on current mass scale solar park designs like Cleve Hill in north Kent. This is totally inappropriate for a flat landscape like Romney Marsh. They will also be seen from the nearby upland areas for miles around… from Stone in Oxney through to Port Lympne. It will take years, even decades, to establish hedges and tree screens high enough to hide the infrastructure from public view.
There will be security fencing, lighting all around and CCTV. The battery storage come in shipping container size blocks stacked on top of each other. The panels will totally surround some residences, basically isolating them in an industrial sea of glaring solar panels. Glint and glare could adversely affect some residences. The absolute and dramatic change to the unique character of the countryside of Romney Marsh could be impacted for much longer than 40 years. What will replace this energy if, after 40 years, these are decommissioned as the energy companies promise? What is the plan? There doesn’t seem to be one.
Safety concerns
Battery storage is lithium based which is unstable and dangerous if faults develop. They are housed in large containers. If they catch fire, they cannot be put out by conventional means and need to be left to burn out. Toxic gases are also emitted when they overheat or catch on fire. Building an energy park so close to the community of Old Romney, on all sides, could pose a fatal risk as residents will have very little time to move far enough away from the area in time.
Noise concerns
Due to the flat nature of the Romney Marsh landscape and the lack of sound-absorbing natural defences, sound travels far across the marsh. During the construction phase for a giant-scale solar and battery storage park, which would take 24-36 months, the noise (and pollution) of heavy construction vehicles would be disturbing for residents far beyond the immediately impacted community. The noise of pile drivers securing 1000s of frames into the ground and the noise of panels being fixed to the frames will easily be heard miles away. Furthermore, after construction, those living close to the inverters are likely to hear a constant hum from these machines.
Habitat loss
Romney Marsh is already amazingly rich in biodiversity and boasts several rare and protected species such as the marsh mallow plant, the marsh mallow moth and the short-haired bumble bee. It is part of the larger Kent Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and is a key site for breeding and wintering bird populations such as tree sparrows, ducks, geese, herons and swans. Raptors and owls are resident on the lands proposed for the South Kent Energy Park, and across the Marsh. A carpeted array risks removing vast tracks of their hunting grounds as they won’t be able to reach the land underneath the panels if a very closely packed panel design is chosen.
The developers say they can create a biodiversity net gain but the project will destroy so much existing biodiversity it is hard to understand how on earth they will replace it and expand it, and in what timeframe. It could easily take 40 years to replace the biodiversity that will inevitable be lost during the destructive construction process.
Traffic impact
The construction phase will take 24-36 months. HGVs, abnormal loads and construction traffic will clog up the main routes to the south of the Marsh (A2070 and A259) as well as require new roads to be built to access the land because many of the existing roads to the south of the A259 are very narrow. An estimated 70 lorries a day going in and out would need to transport hundreds of thousands of tonnes of aggregate in to stabilise the land along with more than a million solar panels and the frames they sit on. It will create noise, pollution and damage to roads and verges, as well as extra risk for cyclists, dog walkers, pedestrians and horse riders. It will also impact the wildlife along the edges of the quiet country lanes. In the project at Cleve Hill, residents say that heavy plant traffic has caused frequent damage to water and gas pipes in the village of Graveney.
Loss of amenity
Romney Marsh is visited by people from across the UK and the world due to its unique landscape and status. It offers local and visiting cyclists, walkers, horse riders and wildlife enthusiasts many health and wellbeing benefits and rewards. The potential number of solar parks proposed for Romney Marsh would have a devastating impact on the tourism and hospitality industry on the Marsh. Public rights of way may also be at risk, especially during construction phase.
Lack of compensation for residents
While the energy companies say that each solar park will provide energy for X thousand numbers of homes in the county hosting the solar array, the reality is that the power generated is sold via sleeving arrangements to end users anywhere in the country. In the case of Cleve Hill in north Kent, it is Tesco and Shell that have already bought all the energy from the solar park. The community get no benefits from hosting the massive energy park.
Meanwhile, the government’s Community Benefits and Rewards Protocol for renewables does not include solar and battery storage projects. It only addresses onshore wind. The previous government’s Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero was considering mandatory provision of community benefits or rewards for onshore wind, such as cheaper energy for residents living near wind turbines, but then the election was announced. If an energy company offers any benefits or rewards to communities affected by solar farms and parks, it is purely voluntary. Some companies suggest they will offer benefits but when the final project design is submitted the benefits are not included.
Sourcing concerns
The materials required for the solar park and battery storage come from many different countries which will add to the carbon footprint of the project, albeit offshoring it. There are also reports that many solar panels manufactured in China, from where the panels are likely to come, are made using forced labour. Furthermore, China is reportedly increasing the number of coal plants in the country to melt the amount of silica needed for the billions of solar panels in demand across the world as humans transition away from oil and gas-powered energy.