Solar Farm Profit Per Acre Uk

With the uk government legally committed to meeting 15 of the country s energy demand from renewable sources by 2020 there is currently an opportunity for landowners to look into creating solar farms.

Solar farm profit per acre uk.

Despite the reduction in subsidies for solar farms new projects are still coming onstream such as the 45 acre site at clayhill in bedfordshire the uk s first subsidy free farm. Our solar farms are custom designed with dual land use in mind such as grazing small livestock increased biodiversity and cropping. So assuming 5 acres for a 1 mw plant the land cost can be taken to be 5000. But it s not a great sign for the state of the uk s farming industry.

As with any change of use with land expert advice should be sought to ensure that any regulations are adhered to and that profits are maximised. This amount is very insignificant in comparison to the total project cost. There are 465 solar farms in britain and 184 of these sprung up last year. Generally solar developers pay the land owner a rent of 1000 per acre per annum.

At the height of the solar boom in 2015 rents of 1 150 1 400 acre with an additional payment linked to the turnover from the site were possible but recently developers are being more. The truth is that the united states is expansive with complex markets for power and so a straightforward answer of 300 to 2 000 per acre per year can be misleading without context. Growth in the field scale solar market is currently running at 600 per year and a large number of developers are entering the market bringing mounting competition for viable sites. It is no surprise that solar farms generating guaranteed ground rents in the region of 1 000 per acre over 20 years remain attractive to farmers and landowners.

Typically solar farms are set up in rural areas where the land is available cheap and is owned by farmers. The farm came onstream in 2017 and generates enough power for 2 500 homes. Wilson makes 30 000 per year alone on rent from her solar panels and she s got a wind turbine too.