Design and access statement for photovoltaic system Church House Farm Redwick

Design and access statement for photovoltaic system

Project title:
Farm Redwick Date: 9th April 2011

19 KW photovoltaic systems for Mr Jeremy Payne Church House

Location: The proposed installation location is a farm shed mounted system.

The site address is Church House farm Redwick Caldicot NP26 3DT

Details of system proposed:

The system proposed is a 19. KW shed roof mounted system. The proposed installation will be as shown in the mocked up photograph below. It is proposed 4 rows of panels, each row of 4.8 KW output. The proposal is for 160 panels in total. The rows are arranged to avoid obscuring the roof skylights.

A milking farm is a heavy power user as the milk requires refridgeration.

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Design and access statement for photovoltaic system Church House Farm Redwick

A farm house is also heavy power user due to the wash load from farm clothing. This installation will make a major contribution to the farms electrical energy requirements.

Sitting of panels
The proposed panels will be situated on the main milking parlour roof. They will be in 4 rows, 2 rows of 50 panels each over the milking parlour area and 2 rows of 30 panels over the feeding area. The black boxed area is the location of each row of the panels. Each row is 2 metre height by 15 metres wide. Cable routes are all internal to the building, with the cable for the house system following an existing underground electrical duct. A more detailed scale drawing of the proposed system is attached.

Other infrastructure required

Each row of panels will connected to an inverter that will be mounted in the building below the panels on a building side wall. The farm system inverter will connect to the electrical consumer unit in the milking parlour. The house system will be connected to the house consumer unit via an underground cable run through an existing electrical duct. There is no requirement for a meter house or any other infrastructure.

The need for renewable energy

There is a clear and urgent need for renewable energy to generate carbon free electricity. This is to reduce our carbon emissions and help delay global warming which will have a very significant adverse impact on climate and environment. We have an urgent need to replace our electricity generating plant much of which is nearly the end of its productive life and which is are consuming fossil fuels at an unsustainable rate. Carbon free electricity from photovoltaic panels will be an important part of the solution to these problems. Electrical generation by individuals and local communities to meet their own needs, means production and consumption will be local and reduces the need for distribution infrastructure such as pylons. Pylons have a large visual impact on the landscape.

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Design and access statement for photovoltaic system Church House Farm Redwick

Small scale production and local consumption has advantages over large scale and remote generation, such as reduced infrastructure, and helps promote community sustainability and resilience. These needs have been recognised by government who have recently introduced the Feed in Tariff (clean cash back) incentive scheme to promote small scale and local generation. Newport city like other authorities has tough targets for carbon emission reductions. This proposed of system whilst modest in size will help meet all these goals.

Photovoltaic technology
Photovoltaic use solid state silicon chips to convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are now a mature technology that is reliable and long lived. Current generation of panels are expected to last 30 to 40 years, although their output will decline somewhat during this time. They need to be angled towards the sun to capture the energy. Optimum orientation is about 32 degree to the upright and facing due south. There is no noise, waste or emissions of any sort from panels producing electricity. Roof mounted systems are simpler to install than field mounted panels, however in field mounted systems the optimum angle and orientation can always be achieved. Photovoltaic installations are quickly accepted as part of the environment.

Reasons for design

The original intention was for a small house roof mounted system and a small shed roof system. However on a site visit it was considered that a shed roof system will be effectively hidden from the public view whereas the house roof system would have been seen from South Row road. The house is in a conservation area and this would have detracted from the character of the village. Farm shed roof mounting will avoid this as the proposed panels will only be visible at a distance from either the seawall or Mead Lane. The neighbours will not see and be unaware of the system, unless deliberately looked for. The proposed system is in 4 rows to avoid obscuring the skylights that provide much of the internal illumination. The footprint of the panels is: 100 panels in 2 rows of 25 m by 3 m total 150 m2 60 panels in 2 rows of 22 m by 2 m total 88 m2 Total area of all 4 rows are 238 m2.

Site Access
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Design and access statement for photovoltaic system Church House Farm Redwick

During installation van access through the farm yard will be required, and temporary scaffolding will be needed for safe roof access. After installation it is unlikely any access other than by foot will be required as panels are essentially maintenance free.

Ground use
There are no ground use issues, as this is a roof mounted system.

Visual impact of proposed development

The panels are visible only at a considerable distance so the visual impact is low.

Ecological impact of proposed development

The ecological impact is low due to the roof mounting of the system. There may be some nesting opportunities for small birds. There is no adverse ecological impact from the panels, as the panels are noise and emission free in operation.

Boundaries / site fencing

Being roof mounted there is no site fencing required

Footpaths
There are no foot paths or public access affected by the proposed development.

Duration
Installation will take 5 days and the proposed installation is for 25 years after which it will be removed and the roof reverts to existing use.

TAN 12 objectives
Character
The character of conservation will be preserved. The panels only be visible at considerable distance from the seawall and this view will be obscured by trees. The character of the area will be preserved

Community safety
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Design and access statement for photovoltaic system Church House Farm Redwick

The community will be unaware of the installation. There are no emissions of gases, or noise from the panels so there will be no community safety issues.

Environmental and sustainability

The panels have no adverse impact on the environment and may make a nesting opportunity for small birds. The system helps to reduce the farms (and also the Local Authorities) carbon emissions and makes a small contribution to community sustainability by reducing the electrical load on the local gird distribution system.

Movement and access

There will be several days of van movements and probably a minidigger, during the installation phase. Thereafter no further traffic movements will be required. Access is via the farm yard and does not impinge on neighbours or community access in any way. Installation will last approximately 5 days. All the works are on private land without footpaths so there are no public access issues.

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